Picture Perfect Lies
by OneHarlowPierce
Summary: Post-AoU: She's a Spy. He's a Soldier. Nick Fury thinks they are the perfect babysitters for an enhanced baby, but having Black Widow and Captain America living in the suburbs?. What could possibly go wrong? AU.
1. Chapter 1

NEW YORK CITY.

It should have been a lazy morning. It was her day off, which meant she could sleep in, watch nonsense on TV and do nothing. Clint was away bothering his wife for once; she had no SHIELD assignments and no paperwork to fill out. She was free.

Or so she thought.

Nick Fury had requested her immediately. So she walked out of her apartment and jumped on her slick, black Corvette. The drive to The Avengers facility wasn't far, but it was rush hour and she was getting tired by the second as she waited for the lines of cars to move.

Needless to say, Fury was less than impressed by her tardiness.

"You are late"

"You didn't told the rest of the New York population I had to be here fast" Natasha Romanoff retorted, sitting across from him and eyeing Steve Rogers as he sat next to her. She found it odd, since they rarely worked on solo assignments anymore, but decided to let Fury explain.

"As you are aware, Rogers and Stark were sent on a mission to Russia. HYDRA had a genetic lab down there that was successfully shut down" Fury stated, walking around his desk and touching it, which caused the room to go slightly dark as digital blinds obscured the office… "But there was a little complication it seems…"

She saw Steve squirming in his seat next to her and she was trying not to smirk at it. There was nothing more amusing that Steve Rogers being uncomfortable. Unfortunately, it only added to her curiosity. _What was she called in for?_

"It turns out, Pietro and Wanda Maximoff weren't the only ones they tampered genetics with. In fact, we found disturbing records that showed they tried, for three years, to create not only adults, but children like them, without success" She grimaced at that, because Fury's voice told her those children didn't have a happy ending and she might have been the Black Widow, but she was still sensitive with children. "But they tried again this year, and apparently they succeeded. And by that I mean, the child has yet to show any sign of what they had done to it. Stark and Cho are already working on figuring everything out"

"Okay, that's great but would you please get to the point? I do wish to spend my day off relaxing before jumping into Avenger mode again"

"I'm afraid neither you nor Rogers will be tending to Avengers missions for a while" Natasha was about to refute but Fury's glare kept her mouth shut. "The child needs someone to care for him, and you both are the only ones I trust to do it. If he's taken away from us and lands back in HYDRA's hands… Just imagine what they could do with a child as young and this one Natasha. Look what they did with you, with Barnes, with the twins… He needs to be guarded and my top agents are in charge. So there is that"

Fury has lost his mind. She was _Natasha Romanoff_. Black Widow. One of the world's greatest spies. She could destroy someone as easily as Stark with his suit or Rogers with his shield and all she had to do was smile. But she was _NOT_ a babysitter. Let alone to a genetically enhanced child.

"Why don't you have Stark look after it with Pepper? Or Hill? Hell… Carter might be willing to do it. Or Cli-"

"You are doing it and that's it, Romanoff. There is a car waiting on the private parking lot. Maria should be there waiting with the child. The car will drive you to your new makeshift house. It's been set and you have your façade. Go on and make us proud."

She wanted to argue, man didn't she wanted to argue. But she figured it was pointless so she got up and swiftly walked out of the room. She could feel Rogers walking right behind her so she didn't bother hiding her discomfort

"You were oddly quiet, Cap. Don't you see what's wrong with this?" she huffed, getting into the elevator and touching the screen to send it up to the parking lot.

"It is for a good reason. That child is helpless" he reasoned and of course Cap would see it as a sweet sacrifice.

She didn't say anything else, but groaned immediately when they stopped in the parking lot and were greeted by Maria Hill holding a very squirmy, crying child. Steve went to hold him but refrained a second later.

"I might hurt him. Tony was the one that found him and brought him here" He explained, sidestepping Maria and jumping in the car instead. Maria closed her eyes as the child wailed again.

"He's five months old, will be six next week according to Stark. Doesn't have a name except for the code they put on a bracelet. Pepper fed him around two hours ago and you guys have a car seat in there. Here you go" she handed the crying child to Natasha and quickly moved away. If you need anything, call Pepper. Or Fury. Or me as long as it's not to babysit. Good luck"

Natasha frowned as Maria jumped on the elevator and left her alone with the crying- wait. He wasn't crying anymore. In fact, the baby was cuddling to her as she held him. The driver of the car opened the door for her and she jumped in, watching Steve trying to figure out what the car seat was.

"It's a car seat. You have to sit the baby there" she explained "It's supposed to keep the baby safe in case of an accident. Most cars come with it now. Unless it's a sports car"

The baby sighed in her shoulder and she set him on the seat, studying his face for the first time. He was wide awake, staring at her with deep blue eyes and red hair sticking up and she felt her stomach lurch because you had to be extremely cruel to even attempt experimenting on an innocent child like him.

"He seems to like you" Steve commented, and his booming voice caused the child to glance his way. He smiled at Steve before returning his attention to Natasha.

"He likes you too. And he is quite adorable. I can't believe Pepper let him go"

"You are a fool if you think Pepper won't be at that house almost every day"

"I know".

* * *

 **AN:** So... hi there! I recently got into the entire MU and i absolutely adore my little team of Super Heroes. Especially Nat and Steve!... Let me know what you think of this little preview! Dont forget to R/R! -OHP


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer:**_ I do not own the Avengers or any of it's character.

* * *

The drive to the house was long, and they had been thankful that Pepper put a bottle on the baby's bag to feed him. He had gotten fussy but immediately calmed down and feel asleep once he ate and she rocked him to sleep.

The house itself was big and in a private, secluded neighborhood. It was owned by Tony and Pepper had taken to decorating it perfectly. It had been obviously baby-proofed and recently cleaned.

"Welcome home Mr. Rogers. Ms. Romanoff. I'm here to help. Let me know if you need anything. Or Ms. Potts" Of course they would have FRIDAY here. At least she would help them keep an eye on the child.

"I'll go check the rooms. Are you okay with him?" Steve asked, more out of courtesy than anything else. He had nearly fainted when she suggested he took him out of the car, but did so when he realized all he had to do was pull the seat out and move it with the child in it.

"Yeah go ahead. I got it" she shrugged, grabbing the car seat and heading to the kitchen where she saw plenty of bottles and a note taped to a cupboard.

"He should eat every 4 hours. He's also old enough to eat smashed food. Formula is on the cupboard and there are a few bottles on the fridge ready to go. I'm one videochat away. –Pepper"

She sighed and checked on the child. He was asleep and it wasn't feeding time yet, so she followed Steve upstairs to find her room. She could hear Steve on the far left side of the hallway so she assumed her room would be on the right, and it was. It was decorated in a very simple way, and there was a door that connected to the nursery that had been set up.

She walked there and gently placed the sleeping baby on the crib, brushing his red hair back before exiting the room.

"FRIDAY let me know if he wakes up"

"Of course, Ms. Romanoff"

She walked out of the nursery to find Steve standing across the door, leaning against the wall and looking pretty worried.

"What's wrong now?"

"Fury assigned us to do this. But… I don't know how to take care of a child. I'm a soldier-"

"And I'm a spy. An assassin. But we'll have to figure it out. And when he wakes up, you are feeding him" Steve was about to refute but she glared him into silence.

"FRIDAY, call Pepper. We obviously need to figure out a few things here"

"On it, Ms. Romanoff"

"Is there an office or something in this house?" Steve asked as he followed her down the stairs.

"Mr. Stark has a set up in the basement. It should suffice your needs, Mr. Rogers"

And of course Tony had a laboratory there, too. It was dusty and filled with unfinished Iron Man projects, but it had a semi-conference room they would use.

"I didn't have time to clean up Tony's mess down there, I'm sorry" Pepper's voice came out of a screen and she almost jumped away, almost.

"Yeah well, it could be worst" she replied "So, tell me what is it that we are going to do? Because you need to have a pretty good façade to keep Captain America and Black Widow living in the suburbs and blending in"

"And Fury had Hill worked on that. You are Steven and Natalie Johansson. You've been married for two years and the little one turned up a few months ago. You can choose a name for him if you want to. Steve, you work as my new driver. Nat, if you don't mind falling back to the old days, you are my assistant taking a maternity leave."

"You didn't like me that much back then" she smirked.

"I was in love with Tony and he seemed infatuated with you. I'm sorry"

"Stark liked you?" Steve mused, glancing at her. She ignored him.

"Anyways, I can make it work. How long do you think it should take for us to be out of here?"

"Tony and Helen are working very hard to learn as much from the child as possible. Vision is scanning HYDRA databases and Wanda is getting info from the captured ones. Maybe soon"

"I thought you knew nothing about the Avengers" Steve deadpanned.

"I've learned".

"Alright then, I'll create the fairytale for us. Thank you Ms. Potts."

Pepper had to laugh "You are welcome, Ms. Rushman"

Steve spend most of the day checking the perimeter and learning how Tony's security system worked from FRIDAY, while also memorizing the background story Natasha had created for them. True to her word, she had him feeding the baby and entertaining him as she cooked lunch and dinner. She had put the baby down at around 9, thinking he would sleep through the night, but they couldn't have been more wrong.

He was finally drifting when he heard a very loud wail coming down the hallway. He was up. Again. Obviously they were doing something wrong because it was 2am and the baby was still awake. He got up and walked into the nursery, wincing as the baby's cries rang in his ears.

"I don't know how Clint has dealt with this three times. This is crazy" Natasha grunted as she paced the nursery, bouncing the baby as he cried.

"FRIDAY, can you like… check on him?" Steve wondered, feeling helpless as the baby kept crying. They fed him, bathed him and changed his diaper (Natasha did it all), but he seemed uncomfortable.

"He seems to be perfectly fine, Mr. Rogers. Would you like me to call Ms. Potts?"

"No, no. We'll figure it out. Just… Don't" Natasha snapped, moving towards her bedroom. Steve dragged himself there and plowed onto her bed, feeling exhausted. Looking after a child was not as easy as it seemed, and not even his serum-enhanced body could keep up with this.

"Steve?" Natasha asked, glaring at his sleeping form. She was tired, and she needed to sleep, so she did the one thing Pepper told them not to do. Place the baby on her bed.

"Cooperate, little guy. Please…" She sighed softly, cuddling the baby to her chest.

Steve woke up around 8am feeling something tug at his shirt. His eyes snapped open and he almost jumped out of bed, until he realized it was the baby, sound asleep between him and Natasha. His back was pressed to Nat's stomach and his tiny fist was holding onto his shirt, which made him realize he was too close to Nat, and his right arm was wrapped around her waist.

"Don't move, Cap. He's finally asleep" Natasha whispered, not even opening her eyes, but placing her left hand over the baby's belly.

It was quite a sight. Natasha was not one to show much affection, and after Bruce disappearance it seemed that she was only happy whenever Cooper and Lila called her. She would smile, or laugh, depending on what story Cooper was telling her about his father's latest mishap and on those days she would lay off the soon-to-be Avengers. Just a little bit.

But here she was, half asleep and looking relaxed, albeit tired, hugging a child she was not interested in babysitting less than 24 hours ago.

He felt the baby release his shirt and he carefully got out of bed. He felt guilty for falling asleep on her, so the least he could do was make some breakfast and get a bottle ready for the kid. Besides, it was Monday, and he should be heading to Stark Industries soon. He just hoped he didn't run into any neighbor. He wasn't good at lying, or creating background stories like Natasha was.

He went to his bedroom and took a quick shower before putting on dress pants and shoes and a wife beater and then proceeded to make breakfast for himself and Natasha. Pancakes were the easy way out, and while at it he warmed up the baby's bottle. He seriously needed a name.

"Good Morning, Mr. Rogers. The child has woken up but Ms. Romanoff seems to be in a deep sleep. Do you want me to alert her?" FRIDAY's voice startled him, and he almost dropped the bottle.

"No it's okay. I'll get him"

He sprinted towards Natasha's room and blue eyes settled on him. But there was a problem. He didn't know how to hold him. He had fed him on a high chair and Natasha had always placed him in his arms, he never had to pick him up. He was tiny and fragile and getting fussier by the minute. Natasha had told him he'd have to get over it, because it wouldn't look normal if he refused to hold his own child in public.

"Alright champ, help me out" he mimicked what he saw Nat do the previous day, and he had to admit that it wasn't that bad. Besides, the baby was unharmed.

However, he kept fussing, which Steve assumed it was because he was hungry, so he walked downstairs, cradling the baby close to his chest, just in case. He checked the bottle and decided it was acceptable to feed it to the child.

"FRIDAY, how long should it take for me to get to Stark's?" he asked, sitting on a couch as he fed the baby. He had never felt so normal yet alienated at the same time. This wasn't his life, but holding the baby close to his chest made him feel normal.

"Thirty minutes, sir. Or Forty five minutes or more if we take into consideration the rush hour traffic."

He was sure Pepper could do without him for a while. He wanted to head over to the Avengers facility, but he knew Fury would not be happy about it, so for the day, he would actually be Pepper's driver. He heard a sigh and looked down at the baby. He had finished his bottle, but unlike the day before, he didn't fall asleep.

"You don't feel like napping yet?" he placed the baby on his shoulder and decided walk out and pick up the newspaper.

He saw a few of the neighbors leaving for work, and some of the females were not being shy as they ogled him. It was then that he realized he was only wearing his dress pants and wife beater which was tight on him and the baby was cradled closely to his neck.

"You sure know how to give them a show" Natasha smirked as she walked down the path, wearing a black tank top and shorts and now it was the males ogling at her. "Nothing melts a woman like a father with his baby, especially if said father looks like you"

"You are doing the same" he shrugged, blushing by her comment and passing the baby to her as he bended to pick up the paper. He heard what the girls were saying about him, and he couldn't help but blush even more.

"I bet you can make them moan all the way from here" she smirked, and he knew she was up to something.

"No"

"Kiss me. Smile and come here and kiss me. You are my husband. Kiss me and I'll walk in with him" she grabbed the baby's hand and waved at him. It was funny; he could swear the baby looked just like her.

He walked closer to her, wrapping his arm around her waist as he smiled at the baby, who was content playing with a hair strand of Natasha's new burgundy hair.

"He loves you" he said, and kissed her softly. She was obviously impressed, and he felt a bit proud.

"You've practiced"

"Not really. You caught me off guard that day. Besides, you are my wife now" which reminded him that they needed rings. "I can practice all day long". She laughed and walked back to the house, which allowed Steve to hear the whines of their neighbors, lamenting he was married to someone as hot as him. He chuckled and followed her.

"Pepper called, and she said you could be late. But not late enough her other employees complain" she stated as she sat on a kitchen stool, the baby softly cradled in her arms.

"Because they won't find it odd when Natalie Rushman returns to Stark?"

"As far as they know, I've been handling the European offices. But Tony already made sure all the employees there know me as Natalie, not Black Widow or Natasha Romanoff" the baby cooed, and Natasha smiled at him, which earned her a giggle.

"It comes naturally… to you at least. I have no idea what I'm doing" Steve admitted as he went on to actually cook their breakfast.

"They trained us to be perfect. So we could shift as they needed it. We had to be able to go from a stripper to a babysitter faster than you blink. So we had to be good with kids. I never had to use those skills, and quite honestly, I don't feel bad using them on him. My mission is to protect him; not to hurt him or his parents"

Steve choose to stay quiet, listening as the baby babbled at Natasha "He needs a name. It's only a matter of time before the overbearing neighbor turns up. And we can't introduce him as Baby"

"The best lies are those based on truths" Natasha stated "We should call him Clinton. I can't have kids, but I guess I could return the favor to Barton temporally."

"Clinton Johansson… It sounds like a politician's name. But it'll do" Steve agreed, and passed a plate of pancakes to Natasha "Go ahead, I'll finish dressing up"

He didn't wait for an answer before racing up to his bedroom. He put on his shirt, tie and jacket before combing his hair back. He dyed it brown, and he had grown a beard that he was quite proud of, no matter how many times Sam teased him for it. He could hear the baby fussing downstairs and he closed his eyes, because back in the 40's he would've done anything to have this. The perfect house. The perfect wife. The perfect child. Except this was the 21st century. And Natasha was not his wife. Clinton was not his son and this wasn't his life. Suddenly the baby cried and he realized that he had left Natasha alone with the baby while expecting her to eat. Strike one.

He ran downstairs, only to find Natasha eating quietly in front of the TV. And the baby was on the floor, lying on his stomach and trying to roll over on the carpet.

"Did he fell?" he asked panicked, walking closer to the baby as Natasha glared at him. Strike two.

"Yes, I let him fall" she replied sarcastically and he lifted his hands as the baby cried out, and then giggled "He should know how to roll. He might as well do it on the floor. He's fine, go to work"

"Do you need any help? I could stay"

"Pepper is one call away. FRIDAY keeps an eye on him too and Wanda is coming over in a few. Apparently, she likes babies too. Go on, we'll be fine"

"Fury wanted us to care for him"

"And he gave us a fake life we are supposed to live. If none of us go to work, the neighbors will think we are smugglers. And believe me, there's always the noisy one"

Natasha smiled in victory when he sighed in surrender, picking up the baby from the floor and walking out to say goodbye him as he got into the silver Audi to turn it on, baby perched on her hip.

"Noisy neighbors at my two o'clock. She's been picking on the same weed since we walked out of the house, he's been standing just as long" she stated as Steve got off the car, eyeing them.

"I know you don't need me, but if something happens, call. I'll be here in a beat" He crouched to be eye level with the baby, and tickled his cheeks before kissing his forehead. He stood up slightly, just enough for Natasha to wrap her hand around his neck and bringing him down for a kiss.

"You need to get used to it. I intend on playing the doting wife until I can go back to work" she smirked when he blushed, stuttering a goodbye as he jumped into the car. She saw the noisy neighbors approaching her as Steve backed away from the driveway. "Say bye to Daddy!" she waved the baby's hand and Steve chuckled before driving away.

So far, so good.

* * *

 **AN:** This is the first full length chapter. Like i said, i'm new to the MCU and the awesomeness of their stories so please forgive me if i mess up here and there with the character's background, powers and such. Please R &R and to those following this: Thank you! -OHP


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** _All characters belong to Marvel_.

* * *

"Hi sweetie!" Natasha heard the woman say behind her as she spun to go back to the house, holding in an eye roll as she put on the sweetest smile she could muster and turned to face her.

"Hi there! Good morning" she replied, adjusting the baby.

"We are the Coughlin's. I am Holly, he's Ron. We live across the street. We couldn't help but notice when you two moved in. None one has lived in that house for years" Yes, they were definitely the noisy type.

"Well, I am Natalie; we are the Johansson's. My husband and I just got back from Europe. The house was owned by our boss and she sold it to us when we told her we wanted to come back home"

"Oh, that's wonderful. Is this your son?" she tried touching his cheeks but he immediately whined. _Good boy._

"Yes, Clinton. He's our pride and joy"

"He looks just like you. Look at that hair! And his lips! Just like his mama! How old is he?" that pitchy voice… she was going to have a migraine if she didn't escape soon.

"Almost six months. He's getting used to the new place and language but he's doing fine" If there was something from her old life Natasha had been more than happy to keep, was her ability to lie. It came naturally, and she enjoyed seeing the unsuspecting ones buying every single one of her lies. Just like Holly and Ron.

"He wasn't born here?" he asked with what Natasha could only describe as disdain.

"He was born in Russia. Not by choice" she glared at the man and his wife shushed him. Jerk.

"There will be a barbeque in our house this weekend. The entire neighborhood is invited. Feel free to join us" Holly smiled.

This was turning into such a cliché, that she was having a hard time stopping the eye rolls now.

"We will try" she saw the red Mercedes SUV Wanda usually drove and sighed in relief "We need to go, my sister is picking me up to go grocery shopping and this little guy isn't ready" she waved at Wanda when she parked the SUV and walked out of the car.

"Nat, hi" Wanda smiled as she stood next to the redhead, followed by Pietro, who just waved.

"Twins" she greeted, and noticed the neighbors still standing there. Of course. "These are Holly and Ron, my neighbors"

"I'm Wanda, he's Pearce my brother." The brunette stated in a perfect American accent. Vision was doing his part of the job it seemed.

"I thought you said your sister was picking you up?" Ron asked, and she was just about ready to punch the guy. How noisy could they be?

"Yes, and she's my baby sister. I didn't think our brother was tagging along" she playfully glared at Pietro, who shrugged and took the baby from her arms, walking towards the house.

"We'll be going before Pearce accidentally hurts himself or the baby. I'll see you later, bye!" Natasha waved and basically dragged Wanda to the house, closing the door with more force than was probably needed.

"I'm your sister?" And there was the accent she had learned to tolerate.

"Well, you and Pietro are the babies of the team. And it's better than telling them you are magically enhanced kids product of a semigod's scepter"

"You got a point. They are snobby" Wanda laughed and followed her to the living room.

"They were Tony's neighbors, what did you expect?"

"He is a cute kid. Looks like you from afar" Pietro stated from his position on the couch, where he laid with the baby on his stomach, giggling.

"Yeah, whatever. Can I trust you both to bath him and get him ready while I do the same? Blondie, feet off the table and get the car seat in the SUV" she stated before disappearing upstairs.

 _"Not even two days with the baby here and she's already acting like a mother."_ Wanda stated in Sokovian as she took the baby from her brother and walked upstairs and into Steve's bedroom, Pietro following with the baby's tub and fresh clothes.

 _"Maternal instincts. She already had them, look at how she hovers over us whenever we get hurt in a mission, especially you"_ he said as he filled the tub and poured the soap _"They don't care much if I get hurt"_

 _"If you weren't such a punk sometimes, they would like you more"_ she replied and then proceeded to wash the baby. Once ready, she walked back to Steve's room and placed him on the bed, starting to dress him.

" _Do you think she knows Cap likes her?_ " Pietro asked, running a hand through the baby's wet red locks " _He really looks like Natasha"_

 _"I don't think she knows she likes him. And he's Cap, he won't make a move_ "

"And this is my temporary home, so either you speak a language I understand, or you go. Now let's go before he gets grumpy" Natasha stated from the doorway. Pietro laughed, speeding down the stairs to fix the seat while Wanda handed the freshly showered baby to Natasha.

"We go to the facility? Stark and Dr. Cho want to check the baby"

"Sure, but we do need to do grocery shopping. Remind me to talk Tony into getting me a car. I don't think my Corvette is made for babies"

-00-

Pietro drove like he run. Natasha usually didn't mind but for God's sake they had a child on board. So of course, after stopping briefly to refuel the SUV, Wanda took over, probably sensing the more than homicidal thoughts going through the red head's mind.

Arriving at the facility was interesting, to say the least. Tony and Helen had barreled through the other Avengers, taking the child away and barely giving Natasha any time to catch up. Luckily, their testing was fast.

"Is he okay?" she asked as she saw Pietro and Vision babysitting the baby. Wanda had gone to fetch some food and get the groceries she needed, so she had to settle on them.

"He seems a bit smaller than average, considering his age, but he's healthy. No trace of previous diseases and he's strong. We gave him a few shots, so expect him to be a little moody and clingy tonight. How was last night?" Dr. Cho said as she typed away on her tablet. _Oh great._

"He woke up four times, but I finally managed to settle him at two. Rogers was pretty much useless, so he'll be on baby duty tonight"

"He's getting used to his environment, so I'm not surprised. He should settle soon. How's the façade going?"

"Well… Natalie Rushman has two younger siblings now. And she's been invited to a barbeque next Sat. So…"

"The Coughlin's I guess? Go there, all the neighbors attend and you can check them over. They are worse than me, but if you wanna fit in there, you must go" Tony stated as he walked back with a tablet and a blood sample "And there's a brand new SUV parked outside, just for you. Fully equipped and completely armored. Vision transferred the car seat from Wanda's SUV to that one. Ready to go"

"I would prefer my Corvette but I guess that will do"

She walked back into the living room and she had to laugh at Pietro's antics with the child. It was funny how a large group of Super Heroes reverted to kids when it came to a baby. Including Vision. It took her two hours to finally escape the facility, only after Wanda promised to stop by later in the week (Natasha threatened to literally kick her into shape if she didn't keep up with her training).

And because of that, she was not surprised to find Steve's company car outside the driveway, all the lights in the bottom floor turned on.

"I thought Wanda kidnapped you" Steve said when she walked into the kitchen, a whimpering baby in her arms "What happened?"

"He got shots. You are on baby duty tonight. By the way, we've been invited to our neighbor's barbeque on Sunday; Tony says it's a must, so we are going."

"I'm not good at social events, Natasha"

"You better learn"

Their dinner had been uneventful, he had brought take out because his cooking skills were less than impressive, and the little one had been on the living room carpet rolling around and babbling at his new toys. Of course, Steve knew it was the calm before the storm.

As soon as Natasha had gone up to take a bath, the baby started crying. Steve assumed he had bonded with her already and not having her around made him feel abandoned.

He picked the baby form the floor and tried pacing the room just like Natasha had done before, and it seemed to work just enough for Natasha to find them in complete silence.

"I'm going to bed. If you need anything, let me know" she kissed the baby's forehead and gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek before going back upstairs. He would be lying if he did not felt disappointed when she kissed his cheek, but there was no one looking so they didn't have to act as a couple indoors.

Of course, the baby didn't let him dwell on it too much. He had gone to his room and tried doing anything he could to soothe the child, but it didn't work. He cried through his bath, his feeding and his diaper change, and now at 3am he was just about to lose it.

"I would suggest placing the child in Ms. Romanoff's bed. It worked last night" FRIDAY's voice ran through the room startling the baby and making him cry louder, which frustrated Steve. He should have tired himself out by now.

"Thanks, FRIDAY. But he needs to learn how to sleep in his own crib. He probably misses her, but he can't cry all the time Natasha is not with him." He sighed, until he remembered something.

Back in the '40s, Bucky had a few younger sisters, and he was asked to babysit them more often than not. Every single time Mrs. Barnes left for work and the little baby started to cry, Bucky would wrap the baby on a quilt his mother always used. He had said it smelled like her so the baby would feel she was there.

So, with that on his mind, he walked down to the living room and fetched the jacket Natasha had been wearing that day. It smelled of her perfume and something it was uniquely her. He wrapped the baby in it and bounced him back and forth, singing military cadences softly, obvious to the pair of blue green eyes watching him from the stairs.

Much to his relief, it worked, and he moved up the stairs to place him on his crib. He decided to just lay him on the jacket, hoping Natasha didn't mind some baby spit on it. He actually stayed in the room a few more minutes, making sure he actually stayed asleep before heading to his own room. The clock on his night table read 4:17am and he was tired. To top it off he had to work in a few hours and be functional through the day. Raising a baby was not an easy task.

"FRIDAY, if he wakes up, let me know. Natasha deserves the night considering she spends the day with the baby.

"Of course, Mr. Rogers"

And that was the last thing he remembered before passing out.

-00-

"Wake up, Steve" Natasha probed the sleeping soldier, holding onto the baby with her right arm. "Captain!" she shouted, which caused Steve to jump off the bad and land on the floor, earning a laugh from the baby.

"Dear Lord, Romanoff. What is it?"

"It's 8:30am. You will be late for work" she smirked, amused at the sight of Steve Rogers half asleep, hair sticking up and eyes heavy with sleep. The little baby had done a good job.

She left his room to allow him to get ready, and decided to busy herself in the kitchen. She knew Steve was not a good cook, and that he usually ate out when they lived in DC, so she made lunch for him and placed it on a bag, along with an extra large cup of coffee. Then she took his car keys and headed outside with the baby, starting the engine and the a/c before backing it out of the driveway and parking in front of the house.

He walked out, looking as neat and clean as Steve Rogers could be, and she had to admit she loved the beard on him.

"Thank you for waking me up. I can't believe I overslept"

"It's okay. Now, bonding time. I'll be right back" she said as she pushed the baby into his arms, disappearing into the house.

"You are one little energy ball" he bounced the baby as he sat on the car, the baby turning in his lap to hold onto the wheel, laughing when he accidentally turned on the wipers.

"You got a cute one there" he heard someone say next to him, and turned to realize it was one of the girls that had been ogling him the day before.

"Yeah, I'm lucky. He looks just like his mom" he said, smiling as he looked down at the little boy in his lap, kissing the top of his head.

"I say he looks like you. Minus the hair of course. He's handsome just like you" Is she seriously doing that right now?

"Here's your lunch baby. I might drop by to finish the childcare details at the company before I rejoin it" Natasha appeared suddenly, giving the girl a sickly sweet smile he knew only meant trouble as she stood by him, handed him the bag and gave him a deep long kiss, taking the baby from him "Have a good day"

He was stunned for a second, but he managed to give her a smile and wave at the baby before driving off, leaving the girl to Natasha.

The rest of the week went by in the same domestic routine. Natasha spending most of the day with the baby while he took charge of the night shift. The little one had gotten accustomed to the house it seemed, and was only waking up once during the night, usually to get a new diaper and food.

However it was Sunday. And that meant it was the barbeque weekend and Steve was not feeling excited. At all.

"Do we really need to do this?" Steve whined for the fifth time as he adjusted his blue polo and khaki pants. He was the picture perfect American dad. But younger, and hotter than average.

"Yes, Steven. We have to. It will help us to sort out our neighbors" She replied as she adjusted her black loose top and white skirt, covered by a grey oversized cardigan. He hated social events, even more when he had to lie. Yes, Natasha had tattooed their background story into his brain, but he still felt like he was going to mess it up.

"Can you get the baby ready? Or do I have to do it too?" Natasha rolled her eyes as Steve snapped back to reality and proceeded to work. He had gotten so much better at handling the baby, and she had to admit she almost felt at home. She had dreamed of this life once, long before KGB and Red Room tore it away, and living it felt as unreal as it was.

"Everyone is coming tomorrow. The Twins apparently found some toys they want the baby to try and Vision wants to show us his human disguise… Or so he said."

"That's good. It will help us look normal… By the way, how does he look" Steve asked as he raised the little boy, who was wearing a tiny black polo and khaki shorts, his red hair styled the same way as Steve's. She had to admit, they looked adorable.

"You both look like the perfect father and son. Now let's go"

"Hold on, we should wear this" he said as he passed the baby to her and rummaged through his pockets, producing three rings "These people will notice the lack of rings, I hope you don't mind it, I got them on Monday before checking in at Stark"

He put on his simple gold band and handed her the other two. She was amused at how nervous he was. She put on the engagement ring, a simple gold band with a round diamond in the middle, flanked by two smaller diamonds, and then she added the wedding band, another gold one matching his.

"Good thinking, I'm impressed. And they look good. Now let's go"

He nodded quickly, following her down the stairs. They put the baby on the stroller Pepper had gotten them and made their way to the party; Steve pushing the trolley and her hand grabbing his arm.

Needless to say, they were the center of attention. She wasn't sure how many times she heard compliments about her beauty from all the men, how all the mothers seemed impressed by her perfect body despite giving birth a few months ago, how handsome her husband was and how the baby looked every bit like her, except for his eyes.

The Coughlin's had a son, Charles, who had apparently seen Wanda the other day and was pretty happy to find out the blonde boy was her twin. He would be surprised when she turned up with Vision, she guessed.

And Steve was fairing it well. He had been on baby duty must of the evening, handing him over to Natasha only when he needed feeding. He felt the urge to use some choice words when one of their neighbors had berated Natasha for not breastfeeding, but Nat had kept her in check, feeding them yet another lie.

Now it was time to go, at least for them, as Natasha had told the Coughlins that Clinton had gotten vaccinated that week and wasn't feeling well. Actually, the baby was fussy because he wanted Natasha to hold him, and she would, once they were at home.

"I owe an apology to Tony. His neighbors are far worse than him" Steve complained, handing the baby to Natasha and folding the trolley to place it in the closet.

"I wouldn't go that far, but they are definitely worse. I have a headache" She walked to the kitchen, fetching another bottle to feed the baby "Can you run the bath? He stinks of perfume and grill smokes"

Steve nodded and went upstairs to do so, leaving hear alone with the baby.

"It's not so bad, you know?" she whispered as the baby cuddled to her, happy that she was finally holding him. "You are a really good boy, and if it weren't for my lifestyle and all the people looking for me, I wouldn't mind keeping you… God, I am going soft… I think it's Barton's kids… And Wanda, little witch it's hard to hate"

"Hey Nat. Bath's ready!" Steve voice startled her, but she quickly grabbed the bottle and walked upstairs. She put the bottle on her bed before handing the baby to Steve "You are in bath duty. Have fun"

She grabbed some PJs and went to Steve's room to take a shower. She returned to find him dressing up the baby on her bed, who smiled as soon as he saw her again.

"He really loves you. He won't smile like that for me"

"You should see him with Wanda then" she laughed, grabbing him from his spot on the bed "Go get ready, I got it from here"

She walked to the nursery and sat on the rocking chair, adjusting the baby on her lap and starting to feed him.

"We should have your Aunt Wanda feed you solids tomorrow. I can't wait to see you splash her with it" she smiled, but frowned when she realized what she said "I'm sorry I'm also feeding you all these lies, too. But you don't know this, and once you are placed with your new family, you won't even remember this" she knew the feel. She was getting attached. She was getting compromised. But at the moment she didn't care.

"You are a good boy"

* * *

 **AN:** I'm still working on learning more about the MCU universe and the character's personalities there, so bear with me for a while. However, as you could tell, Pietro is alive here. Let's say he actually hid behind the car with Clint and Costel, so there's that. Please R &R and to those following and reviewing this: Thank you! -OHP


	4. Chapter 4

_**DISCLAIMER:**_ _All characters belong to Marvel._

* * *

Of course they would turn up at her driveway making noise. She was outside, picking up the mail with the baby in her arms when Pietro and Sam stopped in front of her in a white BMW convertible, hip hop music blasting as high as it could. She actually had to cover the baby's ears as she glared at them. Wanda and Vision stopped right behind them, and she had to do a double take as she saw his human disguise. He was wearing a blue snapback, red shirt underneath a black leather jacket, jeans and sneakers. His skin was pale, almost like hers, although you could see some red tint to it.

"You two, are jerks" she glared as Pietro and Sam laughed "Viszh, you look great"

"You can call me Jarvis. Sounds more acceptable than Vision, I believe"

"Alright, you might wanna hold your girl, the noisy neighbors son saw you and is interested… And he's watching out of the window on the second floor right now" Natasha smirked when Wanda's eyes widened in horror.

"Where's Steve?" Sam asked as he jumped off Pietro's car, smiling at the baby as he chewed on his fist, a hand holding tightly to Natasha's shirt.

"Pepper gave him the day off so he went to do some grocery shopping. The little guy has been eating more than usual. And you are on feeding duty today" she stated as she handed the baby to Wanda, rolling her eyes when Pietro started making faces at him and Vision snapped photos.

"Wasn't the photo shoot last week enough?" she wondered and Sam laughed "Apparently not. Let's go inside"

Vision and Wanda had decided that they needed fake family pictures and had staged a photo-shoot for the three of them and basically kidnapped Steve from Stark Industries. They had gotten quite creative, creating some pictures of hers and Steve's "wedding" along with some candids of them hanging with their friends. They had made a mold of her stomach and created a fake pregnant belly for her to wear, literally forcing Steve to hold it and kiss it as Vision snapped away. They even staged the baby's birth, getting one of those realistic looking baby dolls to match Clinton so Steve could hold it as she was "semi-conscious" in an OR in the facility's medical floor. They had groaned through it, but had to admit it was amazing what you could do nowadays with technology, even if it overwhelmed Steve.

"It's Captain's birthday next week, yes?" Pietro asked as he sat on the couch, Sam turning on the TV and sitting next to him.

"Yeah… For the world's safety, let's say he's thirty two" Natasha replied as she sat with them, eyeing as Wanda feed the baby on the kitchen, smirking proudly when he chunk some of his food to her.

"Hill believes we should celebrate it here. So the neighbors see you do know other people asides your siblings" Sam stated, stopping his channel surfing on a football game.

"Do as you please, but I'm sure Steve won't like that"

"I won't like what?" Steve asked as he walked through the front door, grocery bags in his arms.

"They want to throw you a birthday party next week. Right here" She stated, walking up to him and taking one of the bags before heading for the kitchen.

"No. No parties. Having all the Avengers in a civilian house in the suburbs is calling for trouble. There is a reason Clint kept his family a secret. Natasha and I are supposed to be taking care of that baby, not putting him at risk"

"It was Hill's idea. She said it would do good for your image. Neighbors will notice and it is the fourth of July! You Americans always grill on that day and it's our first here" Wanda pointed out, sitting next to her brother as she wiped baby food off her hair, eyes bright with a child-like excitement that had Steve wondering how Pietro even managed to say No to her.

"And all Avengers will be here. The baby will be safe. Loosen up, man" Sam stated, not taking his eyes off the screen.

"Mr. Howard Stark ensured this house was armored and safe. Mr. Stark and Ms. Potts remodeled and updated the security system. I know how it works and FRIDAY and I can look out for any threats. I believe it might be an enjoyable evening for everyone involved" Vision stated from the recliner he was sitting in, quietly reading a book.

Natasha headed back to the living room with the baby, sitting on the floor and placing him next to her, watching as he attempted to stand holding onto Wanda's leg, who kept encouraging him. Pietro was trying to understand what was happening on the TV as Sam explained. Vision reading quietly. He smiled, because he wouldn't mind spending more time like this.

"Okay then, we'll have a barbeque on the fourth. No neighbors involved."

-00-

He was not particularly sure how long everyone stayed, but it was long enough to feel exhausted. But now he was finally at peace. Sam and Pietro had finally gone back to the headquarters and Natasha had gone with Wanda and Vision to help them find their own loft. So that meant he was alone, with the baby. He had been asleep for a couple of hours after everyone left, but he had woken up a few minutes ago, requiring a new diaper and food.

"Well champ, looks like summer is at its best" Steve spoke softly as he carried the red haired baby out to the backyard, smiling as he settled on the deck, ready to feed him.

"I always pictured this, you know? I grew up poor, but Bucky and I always thought about living in a house like this. Big and warm with a huge patio to play with our kids. Or mine, since Bucky said he didn't wanted kids" he sighed softly.

"James. If I had gotten the chance to become a father to a boy that would've been his name. Bucky would have complained, of course, but I knew he would have been happy about it." The baby stared up at him, blinking as he ate.

"We should give you a name a real, not that Clinton is bad but… it doesn't feel right. And baby got old two days into this, but Natasha refuses to call you something else unless we are in public. Says your future parents should get that honor… I apologize beforehand if said parents are Tony and Pepper, because you'll end up being Anthony Stark the second"

"That would be tragic" Natasha said as she stood by the door. She was dressed in a denim short and red tank top and her hair was tied in a messy bun. She looked normal, relaxed. "What's the matter?"

"You look relaxed, even though we are caring for a possible mutant baby. I've never seen you like this"

"Remember what Pepper said, if we are stressed, he'll get extra fussy. We can barely handle him as it is"

"He's an easy child. We lucked out I guess" Steve smiled softly as the baby let out a burp, giggling as he turned towards Natasha, still eating "He's a happy child"

"That he is" she agreed.

"Wanda and Vision found something they liked?" he asked as the baby finished off his bottle, immediately stretching his arms towards Natasha who sat next to Steve and took him in her arms, cuddling him.

"Vision doesn't really care. It's Wanda's choice. There's a little flat five minutes from here she seemed to love, so they might move there"

"Is Pietro moving with them?"

"No. Wanda says he met some girl and wants to look independent. Figures"

"He'll grow up. I bet Clint is praying he does soon" Steve got up, stretching before taking the baby's empty bottle off the floor "I'll go take a shower. Let me know if you need help"

"I got him"

-00-

"Happy Birthday Steve" he heard a soft whisper in his ear and felt tiny hands hit on his chest, which made him open up his eyes to find Natasha sitting on his bed right next to him, holding the baby as he sat in between them.

"Hey" he smiled softly, his eyes barely a slit as he turned towards them and smiled at the baby, who placed a sloppy kiss on his cheek "When did he learnt to do that?"

"Wanda taught him. He adores her" she smiled as she brought up a little box and handed it to him "Hope you like this"

"You didn't have to, Nat" Steve stated as he sat up and leaned against the headboard, placing the baby on his lap as he opened the box. It felt like a family moment, and he decided to cherish it for what it was.

He lifted the lid off the blue box, pulling out a chain. It was thick and it had a cross hanging from it. In two little plates, were the initials of his mother. "Nat…"

"Don't even mention it Steve. You deserve it. And it didn't cost me a fortune don't worry"

He was at a loss for words. No one had gifted him with something so unique and especial. And he realized for the first time that Natasha had actually heard all his stories about his mother, how he missed her and how he wish he could carry her with him, not only on his mind. They had been going back from a SHIELD mission when they passed in front of a Tattoo shop. He told her how he always wanted to get a tattoo of his mother's portrait but his body simply rejected the ink. She told him that she never got one because it was not practical, to have something that could be so easily identified. She had listened, and she had cared. And his heart was full of happiness and… love?.

He didn't know what to say, so he didn't. Instead, he pulled her to him, kissing her softly and pouring his feelings into it, only breaking apart when the baby pulled himself up using his shirt and babbled, smacking their faces while giggling.

"Nat I'm so-…" he didn't even finish, she kissed him again before getting off the bed, pulling the baby with her.

"Wanda and Vision will be here any sec. Get ready birthday boy"

He sat in the bed, shocked for a few minutes. He couldn't believe he had actually kissed her. Or that she had kissed him back without complains. There was no mask, no lies. And he had these feelings that had been growing day by day. Especially since they were thrown in that house. And he had known for a while that he liked Natasha as more than a friend, but he figured she would never accept any advance from him, after all he had been the one that wanted her to be a friend.

"STEVE!" He heard Natasha yell from downstairs, which made him snap out of his thought and run downstairs, fearing something had happened. Instead he found Natasha feeding the baby in the kitchen as Wanda and Vision started pulling out decorations.

"Um… Sorry, I thought something had happened" he smiled, his face going red as he walked back towards the stairs.

"Happy Birthday Steve!" Wanda smiled, Vision doing the same. He thanked them and rushed upstairs, taking a shower and then taking some extra time to trim his beard. He was pretty sure trimming the beard was more work than staying shaved, although he liked it. He was quite surprised to find Natasha sitting on his bed when he came out, legs crossed.

"Um… Where's the baby?"

"Wanda and Vision went to pick up some stuff for the barbeque, so they took him. And yes, I have FRIDAY tracking their every move"

He nodded nervously and Natasha smiled, it was amusing how he got flushed when he was nervous. She rolled her eyes and walked towards his closet, pulling out some clothes.

"You still like to dress like an old man. It's your birthday and we might have not invited the neighbors, but they will be sitting in their yards, watching" she stated as she pulled a black polo with red trimming, a pair of dark jeans and a pair of high top sneakers he didn't even knew he owned. "The baby will be dressed just like you, so…"

"Nat, about what happened i…"

"Let's just… let it happen. Whatever happens… let it be" he nodded, because that was everything he was going to get out of her and he knew it. She turned to leave, not before giving him a lingering kiss and one last comment that had him turning as red as the trimming of his shirt.

"Slick your hair back. It really turns me on that way"

* * *

 **AN:** Sorry i got behind on the update. Left my laptop at the dorm and didn't went there until today. Please R &R and to those following and reviewing this: Thank you! -OHP


	5. Chapter 5

_**DISCLAIMER:**_ _All characters belong to Marvel._

* * *

"Found anything yet?" Tony asked his AI as he worked on his StarkPad, trying to decipher some of the HYDRA data they got from the lab.

"Nothing yet, Sir. There is no DNA match in the HYDRA database" FRIDAY answered, eliciting a frustrated groan from its owner.

"Wanda has worked really hard to get information out of the lab workers that were captured, but there's nothing. They were given samples and told to create embryos with it. First five tries were successful but only one pregnancy made it. The other samples we recovered, but there's still no match" Helen Cho joined Tony, handing her pad to him.

They were at a dead end. There was no registry of the baby's birth, and although they did found out who was the surrogate mother, she was not the biological one. The baby's DNA did not match anything they had.

"Can I take a look at the blood samples?" Cho asked, getting a dismissive wave from Tony as he got up, groaning as his aching back stretched.

"I'm heading out. I'll try to sleep before heading to Steve's barbeque. If you need anything, ask FRIDAY." He muttered before leaving the room. He was tired. But if there was something he hated, was not knowing something. He had been holed up in his lab for the past few weeks, trying to figure out if that baby was a threat. If he was anything like the Twins, they were in for a lot of trouble.

They were missing something and he knew it. But there was no time for him to figure it out.

He took a shower, changed into some PJs, and tried to fall asleep, but of course his phone buzzed. He rolled his eyes when he realized it was a message from Vision. He knew they were getting everything ready for Steve's party, which didn't start until the late afternoon, but he checked anyways.

It was a selfie showing Steve and Natasha on the grass of the backyard, the baby perched on Steve's chest as they looked at the camera. Natasha had obviously stolen Vision's phone and was having fun with it.

Everyone kept telling him the baby looks like Natasha, and for the first time he actually sees it. They even looked like an actual family. He rolled his eyes yet again, before tossing his phone aside. But then his eyes popped open. Could it be…

"FRIDAY? Can you check the baby's DNA and see if you find something odd. Like super serum or something like that?"

"I'm on it, sir"

He scrambled to his feet and pulled out the large StarkPad from under his bed, retrieving the pictures Vision and Wanda had taken of them.

"FRIDAY, fractionate the facial features of both Natasha and the baby please. And while you are at it, try to do a chronological aging of her. Well… de-aging. I wanna see how Romanoff might have looked like when she was a child"

He waited for a few moments before fragmented pictures started showing on his pad, along with a black and white photo scan of a young girl, around 8 years old.

"Sir, I was able to find a picture of Ms. Romanoff aged nine years old. It was from the Red Room and KGB files, SHIELD stashed the information away"

"Thank you F. Keep working on the DNA"

He looked at the picture, and moved it to the center of the pad, creating a hologram of it. He moved some of the baby's features and imposed them on her photo… The resemblance was uncanny. The eyes shape, mouth and even his ears could be imposed in Natasha's picture and it wouldn't look completely disrupted. He had a gut feeling, and he was sure as hell hoping to be wrong.

"F. Run a DNA test between the baby and Agent Romanoff. I need it done"

"I'll work on it, Sir"

He changed into fresh clothes, sleeping long gone from his mind, and headed to the lab, which was eerily quiet.

"Dr. Cho received a call from the Avengers Facility. A battle exercise went wrong and her assistance was required. She said she would be back as soon as it was over" FRIDAY's voice ran through the lab, but he ignored it.

He checked over Natasha's SHIELD files. Her medical record was impressive, many wounds that a normal person wouldn't survive, but she did. The Red Room and KGB had given her some sort of synthetic super serum to help her develop as the Black Widow. And they had also sterilized her, something he was finding out just now.

"Well… I never felt the need to check her files until now. F, DNA test?"

"I am almost done with it, sir. However, my research of the young baby's DNA has found some interesting marks you might want to check" the AI then displayed the image in front of him.

He has seen those marks. Anyone with access to SHIELD's labs did. And he was seriously not liking where this was going.

"FRIDAY, once you are done running Natasha's DNA, run Steve's. I have a feeling HYDRA got extra creative when they were in SHIELD"

"Of course sir."

Two hours later, he was feeling minutes away from fainting. He was literally, about to faint.

"Tony, the party is in an hour. You've been here far too long and you promised to try and get some sleep" Pepper's voice brought him out of his stupor and he frowned, looking at her with worried eyes. "Are you okay? You are pale"

"Well… this is actually funny. But apparently Steve and Natasha have a son. As in the child Fury told them to care for. He's their son. HYDRA got a hold of Steve's sperm and Natasha's eggs and created a super baby with their DNA. So no, I'm not okay. I think I will pass out" He spat out, shaking his head, because there was no way this was happening.

"Are you sure? Tony this is huge…"

"Don't you think I know that? And yes, I'm sure. FRIDAY ran a DNA test on the three of them and it's a match! Everything is a match… and the frozen samples we have on lockdown? They match Natasha and Steve. So yeah, that kid is their son" Pepper was frozen, and quite honestly, he couldn't blame her.

"But that's not it. He has the serum. He has this crazy blend of the super soldier serum from Steve and the synthetic serum from Natasha. He might be developing like a normal child, but he is going to be as strong as Steve, maybe even more, if Natasha's serum didn't cancel out anything. But the truth is that Captain America and Black Widow have a son. A powerful, serum-enhanced son."

"We should tell them. Before Fury finds out"

"And we will" Tony sighed, looking at her "FRIDAY, print everything we did today. I think I got the perfect birthday present for Capsicle"

-00-

He should've known Wanda was going all out for this. Really, he should have. The girl had basically bounced her way through the house decorating and somehow the house was filled of red, white and blue decorations _everywhere_. Except maybe for the bedrooms upstairs, there was nothing that didn't look patriotic.

"Too much?" Natasha asked next to him, they were lying on the lounge chairs at the backyard, the baby peacefully asleep on her chest.

"Yeah… but I'll let her get away with it. She's too excited"

Sam was currently starting the grill, Maria standing next to him unwrapping the meat. Vision and Pietro were in charge of preparing the drinks and Wanda was helping Rhodey set up some of the fireworks they had gotten.

"Tony and Pepper are late. It's not unusual of Tony but Pepper?"

"I say he got distracted playing with his toys and Pepper is dragging him here as we speak. I was sent to retrieve him more than once in his Malibu house, it was almost impossible to drag him away" she readjusted the baby on her lap and he couldn't help but smile.

"You never told me how it was, to work for Tony I mean. I bet it was awful"

"Technically, Pepper was my boss. I only worked with Tony whenever she was done with his antics. She's a very patient woman let me tell you"

He laughed. Which was something he did through the evening. Pepper and Tony finally arrived and of course he found something wrong with Rhodey's firework array. And Natasha had been right, their neighbors did took a pep at their little party, and for the first time since his mother died, he felt happy on his birthday. Not that Bucky didn't try to cheer him up back then, but there was only so much they could do.

Everyone (but Tony) helped clean up the house, and it was around 9pm when everyone left. Everyone except Tony and Pepper.

"Spill it, Stark. I can hear your struggle all the way from here!" Natasha yelled from her bedroom, where she was getting the baby ready for the night as he sat with the duo in the living room.

"I think you should hurry and come down here. This actually relates to you"

Pepper kept giving him sympathetic smiles through the evening that somehow made him uncomfortable, which was odd because she was Pepper, and she didn't make people uncomfortable. And apparently Natasha had picked up that something was off.

"Alright I'm here. Spit it out" she huffed and sat next to Steve, eyeing the envelope Tony was holding.

"Well… I did some research, and… I really wish Banner was around to help but… yeah, this is for you to read. Take it as a present, Cap. Read it when we are gone. I don't want a knife in my chest. Uh… I'm sorry" he stuttered his way out as he basically pulled Pepper out of the house, leaving Steve and Natasha oddly confused.

"Shall we?" he asked and she nodded. But nothing could have prepared them for what they found.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Disclaimer** : All characters belong to Marvel._

* * *

"Okay. That was weird" Steve said as he stared at the papers in his hands, confused.

"He's Tony. That kind of behavior is quite normal of him. But Pepper? Now that _is_ weird" Natasha stated as she made her way to the kitchen, grabbing a beer from the fridge before returning to her spot next to Steve "Are you opening that?"

"I don't trust Tony. I can only imagine he broke something or created something and now I have to go and clean up his mess"

"That's what Pepper and Maria are for. Give me that" she handed him the beer before snatching the folder, ripping the seals before reading through the documents. She froze.

"What did he blow up now?" Steve tried to joke, but Natasha's reaction had him feeling uneasy. "Nat? What did Tony want?"

She didn't say anything. She was shocked and angry. Very angry. But for some reason she had completely disconnected from the world. Now he was worried.

"Nat?"

She bolted from the couch, thrusting the papers in his lap as she raced upstairs. He heard the nursery's door open and frowned again. He didn't heard the baby cry.

He sighed, pushing the beer away before reading the papers. Maybe they got a break in HYDRA and their labs and this was Tony's cheap way to get out of future troubles. Except it wasn't.

He was a smart man. He had done as best as he could during the 40's. And after agreeing to participate in Erskine's experiments, and SHIELD's constant check ups, he was familiar with labs. He was capable of reading certain information, and was well familiar with the serum marks in his DNA.

He saw a reference of his, and a reference of Natasha's in the folder. Again, he wasn't surprised, after all, Fury had paired them up because they were his most durable and reliable agents. He knew her serum wasn't as powerful as his, but it was still powerful. Enough for her to have a broken rib completely welded in a week or two. He wasn't sure what had triggered Natasha's reaction, until he found a third document with serum marks. It was the child's DNA. It had marks similar to both, his and Natasha's. And… Oh.

There was a paternity test. And it was a match. _Clinton was his son?_. He keep reading, seeing that apparently, the baby was also biologically Natasha's and well… Now he wanted to faint.

"FRIDAY? Is this true?"

"Yes, sir. Mr. Stark ran the test. Numerous times, and the result was always the same"

"How is that possible? I mean they…"

"Mr. Stark believes HYDRA took possession of samples from you as you were unconscious after being defrosted. And Miss Romanoff's samples were given willingly by KGB and RedRoom. Their aim was to create super babies, it seems"

"Did they succeded?"

"No, sir. Most of the samples were recovered and put on lockdown in the new Avengers facility. Five embryos were implanted but only this one made to birth"

HYDRA had created a baby. They wanted a human weapon and used him and Nat…

"FRIDAY? Keep an eye on Natasha. I'm going out"

He ignored whatever the AI said to him, walking out of the door and going for a long run.

Because this was a curve he never expected. And no matter how it happened, he had a son.

 _A son._

 _He's my son._

 _And he needs protection._

 _He need me._

-00-

She knew she shouldn't have left the room like that. But she just couldn't believe it. She couldn't accept it.

This was not what RedRoom had told her when they sterilize her. She never thought they would actually…

Her eyes snapped to the crib, when the baby was quietly staring at her. He was intuitive, and apparently was able to tell she was distressed, and he kept from crying.

 _He was her son_. And yes, he was created on a lab but still…

"Why… why would they do this? You…" she was so angry, and she couldnt remember the last time she was angry enough to cry. She held back a sob, turning her back to the baby as she griped the edge of the changing table "Get a grip Natasha" she scolded herself, failing miserably as the baby finally cried out for her and she instantly went for him.

"I'm sorry. It's not your fault. I should've know RedRoom would always haunt me. It's okay…" the baby kept wailing as she pulled him from the crib, sitting on the rocking chair as she cuddled him to her chest.

"God…" she pulled away to look at him, really look at him, red hair that curled slightly at the tips, pouty red lips and his eyes shape was all her, and she did nothing to stop the bitter laugh that came out of her "Of course everyone was right. You do look like me" she pressed him back to her chest as he once again cried out for her. He was a cuddly baby, and he really did loved when she held him that way.

"You got that from your dad I guess. I'm not into hugs" bright blue eyes stared at her and she chuckled "You also got his eyes. And his strength and endless energy. You are a handful" The baby closed his eyes and dozed off in her arms. "That you got from him too. Rogers can fall asleep in five seconds and be up in two. I actually love my bed"

She spend the entire night rocking on the chair with the baby fast asleep in her arms. She was not sure what she was supposed to do. 24 hours ago he was just her charge. A mission she had to accomplish. She had to keep him safe until he was placed with a family.

And now he was _her son_. And she was pretty sure she was going crazy because she felt that she could never let him go.

"Natasha?" Steve whispered softly as he walked into the nursery. He eyed the baby in Natasha's arms, his son, and smiled. He was asleep and snuggled to her neck and she was snuffling his hair.

"After joining SHIELD, I thought about this… After meeting Clint's family it finally sunk in, what they did to me… I realized that I was supposed to be Black Widow forever. Never fall in love. Never have a family. Just like they wanted…" she held the baby closer to her, running her left hand through his hair.

"It's like he always knew who I was" she said, hoarsely "When Maria gave him to me, he stopped crying. He simply stopped crying and cuddled to me."

"Maybe he did. I read somewhere, that babies know their parents. I remember when Bucky's sister was born. She would cry, but as soon as her momma held her, she stopped. It soothed her." He smiled, sitting on a bench near the rocking chair.

"What do you want to do?" He asked. He knew he wanted to keep the child. He had fallen in love with the baby long before Tony even told them it was biologically theirs. But he couldn't make a decision like that without Natasha's input, it was her son, too.

"What do you mean?" she asked, teary eyed as she kissed the baby's forehead.

"I called Pepper, and she wants to know if we'll keep him. And if we do, he needs a real name. We've been calling him baby for the past three weeks, unless we were in public and we called him Clinton. I believe he'll start thinking it's his name"

"His name is James" she whispered and Steve could feel his heart stopping "I've been calling him that for a few days, he seems to like it"

He was stunned to silence. It was obvious she heard more than she let on that day. But he was surprised she would even consider the name. He knew Natasha was not particularly happy about Bucky. She didn't trust he would come back or be okay, but they had found some common ground on him.

"Natasha you don't have to… We can choose a different name. I know you-"

"His name is James Clinton Rogers Romanoff. Do you really want to discuss it?" She gave him a pointed look that meant drop it. And he did, because his son had a name and he couldn't be happier with his family. Except they weren't a family.

"Ms. Romanoff, Mr Stark and Dr. Cho wish to speak with you. They request your presence immediately. Also, Miss Potts is in need of baby James birth certificate" FRIDAY's voice echoed through the nursery, startling James and causing him to cry "My apologies, Ms. Romanoff"

Natasha got up and started singing a soft Russian lullaby, calming James immediately.

"As soon as Pepper gets here we can head over to Stark tower. We are not taking him with us" She handed the baby to Steve, and he nearly dropped him when he saw Pietro and Wanda Maximoff standing by the door.

"We babysit. I babysit Wanda all my life" Pietro smiled, sprinting through the room before stopping in front of Natasha and kissing her cheek. He nodded at Steve.

"Tony sent us. In case baby needs protection. And I babysat Pietro" Wanda smiled "Vision is around too. Hidden"

Natasha nodded and kept an eye on James as he was passed to Wanda.

"Congratulations in order, yes?" Pietro asked as he stood behind his sister, knowing he wouldn't be hurt for taunting them if she was in front of him.

"He's an idiot. What is his name now?" Wanda asked moving to take Natasha's spot on the rocking chair, rolling her eyes as the redheaded was still glaring at her brother.

"His name is James. And do NOT sprint with him Pietro, or I will make sure you never do it again"

"Mama bear in! I don't sprint with baby. Relax" Pietro laughed as he walked out of the room. Steve glanced at Wanda warily, but then followed suit.

"If you need anything, call" Natasha stated, giving a pointed look at the brunette as she went to her room to change. She saw a light on her nightstand as noticed a file on her Pad. She open it to find James's digital birth certificate and instructions from Pepper on where to sign them. She read through it, hardly believing it.

 _Name: James Clinton Rogers Romanoff._

 _Mother: Natasha Alianovna Romanoff._

 _Father: Steven Grant Rogers._

"You do realize Clint will be pretty mad at you for that, right?" Steve asked as he sat next to her on her bed. He watched as she signed the document, handing the Pad to him.

"And Barnes will kill you, but who's counting" she gave him a slight smile "He's in danger now. SHIELD will keep him out of our files when they find out but, HYDRA knows he's alive. They know he's our son and they will go after him"

"Well, it's a good thing his mom and dad are Avengers then"

* * *

 **AN:** Sooooo... Now they know! And they choose to keep him so there's that. I've never read the comic or seen the series, but what could have gone wrong in the universe that Tony Stark out of all people ended up in charge of all the Avengers kids? Because we know that Steve would rather freeze again before letting Tony raise his son. At least MCU Steve lol... Anyways... As usual, let me know what you think and dont forget to R/R (Thanks to all of those that have done it so far! You are my little romanogers angels) -OHP


	7. Chapter 7

**DISCLAIMER:** _All characters belong to Marvel._

 _About the last names:_ Natasha was signing James's birth certificate. I don't know about other countries, but here, a child must have both parents surnames listed on their birth certificate (and the father goes first). Of course there are exceptions, but that's usually how it works here. That's why we saw James's full name. But if we get down to it, he's little James Rogers.

* * *

"So… FRIDAY told me you choose to keep the child. That's nice… I think" Tony stated as soon as Steve and Natasha walked into his lab, not even glancing at them as he tinkered with his new Iron Man suit.

"You must know how this happened, so start talking" Steve said forcefully, stepping closer to Tony who wasn't fazed, as he aimed the new repulsor in his hand to him.

"I was not involved in your unfreezing, Capsicle. Ask Romanoff or Barton. Fury and Coulson were in charge, if you wanna point fingers, there you have it" he shrugged, adjusting the repulsor one more time before shooting behind him.

"I don't believe you" Steve moved to turn Tony around, but was stopped by a glare from Natasha.

"I know you don't, witchy witch and speedy might as well be your kids too in that sense, because when everything goes south I'm always the one to blame. But if I'm honest Cap, I really didn't want to meet the guy my dad spent most of his life talking about. My bad."

"Tony, do you have anything useful for us here?" Natasha asked sensing things were getting serious. The last thing they needed was a battle breaking in the lab, something Pepper would no doubt be pissed off about.

"FRIDAY, please print all the info we got for them again. I haven't told Fury about this, so I'll leave the yelling to you. The other samples we recovered are frozen in the facility; you choose what you wanna do with them, because it's not really my problem. I can set a temporary apartment at the tower, while you or Steve or whoever gets to keep the child and raise it finds a new place to stay. Once you do, I'm stepping up the security there"

"We will discuss it later. And I'm sorry, I didn't meant to bring back old memories" Steve apologized, but Tony simply shrugged and waved them off, shooting at another target before taking off the glove.

"Hey, I'd be pissed too if I was in your place, Cap. But I think we have bigger things to worry about… well… you two got a bigger issue to worry about. Now get out. I don't want you to see this baby yet"

Steve nodded, grabbing the newly printed papers and heading towards the door with Natasha right behind, stopping briefly "I really am sorry, Tony"

"Whatever. The old man did find a way to keep me alive at the end. But I'm pretty sure he didn't wanted me to create that atom for _that_ "

"Feel free to visit with Pepper tonight. I'm sure she'll like that" Natasha replied, pushing Steve out of the door.

"Seriously Steve?" she huffed as they made their way to the silver SI's Audi Steve usually drove to work.

"I'm sorry. But there was a robot that he created and almost destroyed our world. I know Tony is a very smart man, but I don't particularly trust his inventions"

Natasha groaned in frustration, opening the door of the car and tossing the papers she took from Steve inside. "And you thought he would help HYDRA create a child out of us?" she glared, sitting in.

"I got it Natasha. I'm sorry."

They drove mostly in silence to the facility, intending on having a serious conversation with Fury.

"Why… Tony made a reference to Wanda and Pietro…" Steve wondered as he turned into the hidden road leading to the facility.

"A Stark Industries bomb blew up the apartment they used to live in. Their parents died and they held a grudge on Tony ever since."

"He used to build weapons-"

"Obadiah Stern was Howard's right hand until he died. He took over Stark Industries while Tony finished school. He was trading weapons with criminal organizations, something Tony was unaware of, until it was too late. A bomb literally blew on him" she paused "The bombs that brought down the Maximoff's apartment, along with a big part of Sokovia were sold by Obadiah. Makes no difference in the people's eyes tho…"

"And you know all this because…"

"Fury gave me the ins and outs of Tony Stark before he sent me as Natalie Rushman there. All I had to do was put two and two together once I met the twins. Pietro has let it go, that fancy car sure helped. Wanda is… Wanda. She'll move on someday" she grabbed the papers and got off the car as Steve parked outside the facility, not even waiting for him as she walked into the facility and made a bee line towards Fury's new office.

"Oh no. Cap and Widow are back… does it means we are getting our butts kicked?" Rhodey joked as soon as he saw them, but his smile faltered at the glare Natasha sent his way. "Okay, not in the mood. See you later, Nat"

Steve caught up with her a few moments later, and they both stood for a moment, taking a deep breath as they stepped into the office.

"Romanoff. Rogers. I thought I sent you to the suburbs to look after a charge"

"Oh and he's safe, but that's not why we are here" Natasha stated, placing the folder in his desk and sliding it to him.

He eyed the duo, but took the folder anyways, and if he was fazed by the information in it, he didn't show it.

"So he's your son… well… HYDRA sure as hell got creative" he stated as he placed the folder down, locking his office in the process.

"You took samples from my… my sperm and froze it hoping for what?" Steve spat out angrily, hands in a fist "Were you planning on creating your new damn soldier without telling me?"

"It's not like that, Rogers. The samples were taken in the hopes of figuring out more about the serum. Dr. Banner was supposed to take a look but never got the chance. When SHIELD collapsed, those samples disappeared"

"And you didn't think it would be important letting me know that? How can I ever trust you when you are always pulling stunts like this?"

"I don't need your trust, Cap. You need mine and you have it. And I'm sorry this happened, but at least we recovered the samples and they are safe here. Captain…"

"Destroy them!"

"No"

Both men in the room turned to look at Natasha, who had moved towards a window where you could see New York's skyline.

"Natasha…"

"RedRoom and KGB did a lot of things to me, and my body, that I had no choice in. If you want to have your samples destroyed, then go ahead. But mine will stay frozen"

"You want more kids"

"I wanna know that I will have a chance to have a family if I ever quit this life"

Steve clenched his jaw and turned towards Fury "He stays out of our files and out of the people's knowledge. If you have to stage a death so HYDRA believe James passed away, do it. And unless there's an actual emergency, do not call us in"

Fury could see the duo was worked up, and decided the easy way was to simply agree and let them be. He knew they wouldn't be able to stay away too long, but they needed time and he understood.

They made their way back to the house in complete silence, and Steve had barely parked the car before Natasha was out of it and walking towards the house.

"Well, that was fast" Wanda smiled at them as they walked into the house, James sound asleep in her lap. Vision waved at them from the kitchen, where he apparently was making lunch.

"Where's Pietro?" Steve asked, nodding at Vision as he approached Wanda.

"Lunch date with his girlfriend. Don't ask, he won't even let me meet her. I only know what she looks like because I picked his mind"

Natasha moved towards her and picked the baby off her lap, walking past them and moving to where he presumed was the nursery.

"Meeting with Stark didn't go well?"

"Stark, Fury… This is one big mess we got ourselves into…" Steve sighed, plowing on the couch next to Wanda as Vision passed them some lunch.

"If it helps to lighten your mood, little James behavior was well within the parameters of a child his age. He does seems to be harder to tire out" Vision stated as he sat across his girlfriend, his human appearance fading slightly.

"He has the serum, Vizsh. We guess that makes him extra fussier. Thanks for looking after him; you can go if you want to"

"Once we are done with Lunch. Go upstairs; I think Natasha needs someone to talk" Wanda smiled, waving him off.

-00-

"So… How are we going to do this?" Steve asked as he stepped into the nursery, Natasha was sitting on the rocking chair again, cuddling James to her chest.

"What do you mean?"

"He's our responsibility now. And HYDRA will try to get to him, even if Fury can pull off a funeral for a child"

She sighed, eyes refocusing on their son before she spoke again "I can't simply quit being Black Widow. And you can't quit being Captain America. I guess we need to find someone we feel it's qualified to protect him. I'm sure Coulson and Hill can help with that. Pepper…"

He nodded, moving to sit next to her and run a hand through James's tiny red curls "If you wanna hold him, you can. I don't think you've held him since we found out"

He wasn't sure how it happened, but suddenly his son was in his arms and all the bubbled up feeling came up. Anger. Happiness. Fear. It all hit him like a wave and there were tears trailing down his cheeks and landing on his son's hands.

"He's so tiny. How can... he can't fight. If something happens and we are not here he won't be able to fight. It's-"

"Frightening. But what else can we do asides from fighting back?" Natasha knew how he felt, but the amount of love she felt for her son was strong enough to ensure she would tear the world apart if it meant he was safe.

Steve was quiet for a while, and she left the room once she was sure his meltdown had passed. She got herself some lunch and double-checked the security in the house before heading to her bedroom. If Steve or James needed her, she was sure FRIDAY would let her know.

She wasn't sure when she had fallen asleep, but she woke up to the feel of her bed dipping and strong arms holding her hands in place as she reached for her gun. "It's Steve"

She groaned, pulling her hands away and readjusting the gun, shifting her body so he could lay down if he wanted to.

"Do you really want more children? I don't wanna pry I'm just… I'm curious"

"Are we having this conversation right now? I'm trying to take a nap" she stated flatly, her walls going up.

"Don't shut me out, Nat. You can't do that now that we have James"

She groaned, turning on the bed to face him, sighing "I don't know. Probably not. I mean, I never expected to be a mother. But he's here… I guess I wanna have that door available to knock it if I find the right person…" she replied, before frowning "and I will shut you or anyone out if I have to. I can't compromise those around me any more than they already are"

He lay down next to her on the bed, letting her words sink in. She thought that maybe he would let it go, but of course, he was Steven Grant Rogers, he never let anything go.

"We should try this… We kissed and we agreed to let it happen… I-… James deserves a family, and I think we should try"

"Steve…"

"We've been living in this pretend life for a few weeks, and I don't know about you Nat, but I like it. I love it. And every time I see you with James I wish it was actually my life. There's more in life than being an Avenger. I know that now, and I want you to see it too"

"I see it too…"

"No you don't" he turned on the bed to face her "You think there's so much red in your ledger that you will taint him. He doesn't know who we are. He doesn't see us as a master assassin or a super soldier. He sees us as his parents. And you have to admit it feels nice. He is ours, no matter how that happened, he's ours and we won't let him go"

"So what do you want us to do?"

"We start over. Somewhere else. Just you, me and the baby. Let's make this our real life. We owe it to ourselves and James"

She thought about it for a moment. She could have the life she never thought she's get if she wanted. It was right there. All the times she saw Clint with his children, the pang she felt when she thought it would never be possible… and now she had Steve asking her to build that life with him.

"You think you are the one for me, soldier?" she asked, trying to blink away tears that threatened to fall down her cheeks.

"Y-Yes. And I think we deserve happiness, Nat. I know you don't believe it, but we do. And I think this is fate, if you wanna call it that way and-"

"If I kiss you, will you stop rambling?"

"Y-Yes…" she almost laughed at how flushed he got as she moved towards him, hands on his chest.

"Good" she kissed him lightly "Now we need to find a place to live, our own place to live. I refuse to let James turn into another Tony Stark"

* * *

 **AN:** Sorry about the delay. I got one word for you: College. Also... Chapter 8 is ready and so fluffy it's not healthy, but... you'll have to wait and see... As usual R/R and let me know what you think! -OHP


	8. Chapter 8

_**Disclaimer:**_ _All Characters belong to Marvel._

* * *

It turns out that finding an apartment that fit the both of them wasn't as easy as he thought it would be. Especially when he had to do it alone while also caring for a baby. He should've prepared better, but you can't sue a guy for being completely lost on this.

Natasha, Wanda and Clint had been sent in a mission two weeks ago that had obviously gotten more complicated and asides from a couple of text messages, she had been quiet.

Sam, Rhodey and Tony were in the Middle East dealing with another emergency, which made him twitch because _he_ should be there helping them out.

Pietro was still around, but he had to stuff it when their neighbor asked where Natasha had gone.

" _There were some family issues um… She went with her siblings to solve them. She said it would be bad to take the baby there"_ he lied, and he was almost proud when Holly accepted that, that he almost forgot it meant Pietro couldn't help him out.

Which only left Vision to help, but he was busy back at the facility helping with the new recruits and aiding Tony as much as he could.

Thereby, he was alone.

He knew they wouldn't be able to stay away from work forever, and he was not particularly happy that she had to go first. But the mission required a trained spy and if Fury was able to pull Barton from his family to do it, Natasha was going to be needed too.

But obviously, he underestimated Natasha and her maternal skills by a long shot, if James behaved with her the same way he's been behaving for him. He missed his mom, and probably his aunt too, and it was painfully obvious he didn't know what to do.

"James, buddy c'mon you gotta stop crying" he pleaded as he bounced the baby in his arms, shooting the real estate agent an apologetic smile "I'm sorry. My… My wife went away for a family affair and he's not taking it well. He- she has always been with him… Do you think we could reschedule?"

The woman accepted and rescheduled for the next morning, when hopefully Vision would be able to tag along and help him.

He drove back to the house as fast as he could without breaking the law and basically ran inside with James, who was still crying his heart out and making him feel like the world most horrible father.

"Okay… A bath, Nat said bathing you helps" he moved upstairs, filling the tub in Natasha's bathroom and stripping down to his boxers before doing the same with the baby "Okay, a bath with daddy, let's do this"

He was not a fan of water, and Steve and Natasha had that figure out since basically day one, but he seemed to like it when either of them got in the tub and cuddled him, so they did it as often as they could. He had been afraid of drowning him, but eventually Natasha convinced (forced) him to do it. And it worked like a charm, because for the first time in all morning Steve felt like he had accomplished something and for once, James was not crying.

"If this is the sight that I will come home to after every mission, I might go away often" Natasha's voice from the door startled them, but James was all too happy to cry, cooing and stretching his arms towards his mother, who didn't hesitate to lift him up.

"I didn't hear you come in. Not sure that's good" He smiled, watching as James snuggled to Natasha's neck, obviously happy to be in her arms. "How did it go?"

Natasha shrugged, handing him the baby as she stripped down to her underwear, getting in the tub across from him and reaching for the baby, ignoring the way Steve blushed and spluttered some words.

"Steve, you've seen me in far less. And I need a bath, I might as well save water and spend some time with my boys" she grabbed the baby soap and started rubbing it on James back as he once again settled against her "God, I missed him"

"He missed you too. It was interesting looking after him… I did found a couple of places to look into, but I had to reschedule today because he wouldn't calm down" he stated, and almost jumped out of the tub when Natasha moved to sit between his legs, her back pressed to his chest.

"The mission was awful. Wanda was able to get in and do her thing quite easily, but she got caught getting out and we had to go in. I have to admit, that worried me. She's still not that efficient at hand-to-hand combat" she yawned, washing the soap from James body as he played with a strand of wet, red hair. Steve carefully wrapped his arms around them and lathered her with soap, closing his eyes once he realized Natasha was not going to pull away, because this was _his family_ , no matter what she said.

"I was worried" he said into her hair, placing a soft kiss on James's as he lay down on her shoulder "He wouldn't stop crying, and I couldn't really call you. Hill said you were busy and Tony kept Vision too busy to worry about Wanda or helping me out"

Natasha nodded, squeezing Steve's hand before rinsing the soap and moving to get out of the tub "We need to find that babysitter. I'll get him ready. Maybe he'll be up to napping with me"

Steve nodded and got off the tub, wrapping a towel around them before taking one for him. He dressed in sweat and a tshirt and joined Natasha on the room again, as she settled James on the bed next to her.

"Stay"

He was only too happy to oblige.

-00-

"How long do we have to keep this up before we move? Not that I don't like being at Stark but… I'm a soldier, not a driver. We don't need to be undercover" Steve complained as he trimmed his beard and combed his hair, earning an eye roll from Natasha as she brushed her teeth next to him.

"We just moved in. It would look suspicious if we moved out after a couple of months here. Can we at least try to hit the six month mark?" She said moving to the room to get ready for work, since she was starting up as Natalie Rushman today. At least to those looking around.

"He'll be walking by then!"

"And we still have to get the house baby proofed before we move there. So stop whining."

They had found house well outside New York. Two story, four bedrooms and enough weapons to start an army. But of course, they had a child to think about now, so Steve (and Wanda) took it upon himself to make the place feel warn.

They were still looking for a babysitter, but Wanda had offered to step into the role for as long as they needed (and as long as she was not in a mission), something Steve was secretly thankful for. He didn't trust many people, and having a stranger looking after his son was not something he was looking forward to.

"Good Morning, Ms. Romanoff. Baby James has woken up" FRIDAY's voice ran through the room, and soon enough was followed by James's loud cries from his room.

"I'll get him" Steve said as he moved past Natasha to the room. James was holding onto the railing of his crib, tears traveling down his cheeks as he cried.

"I will admit it, you got that from me" He lifted his son and moved to change his diaper and dress him up for the day "Your aunt Wanda will look for you today, I'm sure you will like it."

James hair was getting long, which meant it curled at the top of his head. Natasha wanted to cut it off but he wanted the hair to grow. He actually loved Natasha's curls and hated it when she straightens it.

"I hope you know how much we love you, James. I will say it a lot, which will probably compensate for Natasha not saying it, but we love you. And we'll be with you, until the end of the line"

"Hey. Wanda's here. We should get going the quinjet leaves in two hours" Natasha stated stepping into the room, taking James from his father as he moved to finish getting ready.

"Steve seriously likes to dress you up as an old man. You are lucky, it looks cute on you" she kissed his forehead before heading down the stairs where Wanda and Vision were waiting for her.

"Captain requested my presence here since I will not be taking part of this mission" Vision stated, a smile gracing his lips as James turned to eye him curiously.

"It's fine. We should be back tomorrow. Maria will bring the car back tonight so the neighbors don't get suspicious. You should drive it back to the facility in the morning"

"He will. All the security is in place?" Wanda asked taking the baby from Natasha.

"It should be. Don't blow our cover if a neighbor stops by. You got everything he needs right here, but you can order takeout or whatever for yourselves, because we barely cook"

"Do not hesitate to call us if James needs something. I'm sure Hill can pass you through" Steve stated, climbing down the staircase as he adjusted his tie, grabbing two coffee mugs for himself and Natasha "Good luck, he's a little energy ball"

"They had to stand Pietro and Tony for heaven knows how long, I think they can handle it" Natasha rolled her eyes, grabbing the car keys and pushing Steve out of the door "See you tomorrow!"

-00-

He was lucky. He knew that from the moment he met her. She could see in him things no one else could, and he would always be thankful of it. But she deserved better, and he knew it.

He was not human. He knew that and he has come to accept it. He was not a robot. He was unique and he could do things not even Thor could, but he could never give her this.

"Have you ever thought about this?" He asked, startling Wanda as she prepared a bottle for James.

"About what?" she wondered as she continued her task.

" _This_. A house and a family" he shrugged even though she couldn't see him.

"I did, once. Back when I was a little girl. I would dream of having a wedding and kids, but then my parents died. And we realized those were just fantasies. Why?"

"Do you still want that family?"

"I have one. It's dysfunctional and I could do without some of them. But I have it" She finally turned around to find Vision standing by the glass doors that lead to the patio, which reminded her of the first time he'd come out of the cradle "Why are you asking this?"

"I… I've seen how Captain and Agent Romanoff have changed ever since they were charged to look after James. Long before they knew he was theirs. And I've seen how everyone seems to have built a bond with the child, love him I'd say. But… I see you with him and I am reminded of the fact that I could never give you that. I'm not human and I-"

"You are you, Vision. And I wouldn't change anything. I don't regret being with you so please, don't you ever regret it. So what if we can't have children? We can be happy, just you and I" she wrapped her arms around his waist and sighed "If you do want a child, I'm sure we can do something about it"

"I don't believe it will be possible"

"Steve and Natasha have a son. And we all know they didn't make him in the good old way. There are options, if that's something you want" she kissed his shoulder "Now c'mon, it's time you feed him"

"I do not wish to disturb him, he is finally asleep"

"And he will be up in a few minutes for his afternoon snack, might as well get it out of the way. Go up, he won't bite"

He sighed, but took the bottle from Wanda none the less, smiling as she pecked his lips. He moved up to the room and just as she said, James was sitting up on his crib, blinking confused as his eyes settle on him.

"Hi, little James" he smiled, and took off the snapback he was wearing. James tracked his every move, but didn't cry, so he assumed it was okay. "Your aunt sent me up. But she did not say what I was supposed to do".

He lifted the baby from the crib and sat on the rocking chair, placing the bottle in his legs as James pulled himself up using his jacket and stared curiously at his face. Taking a chance, he slowly allowed his face to turn red, watching as James curious expression change to amusement, a giggle coming from him as he poked the lines in his face.

James was not afraid of him, he realized. He didn't look at him any different. He was just Vision, uncle Vision. That brought a smile to his face as he adjusted the child in his lap and proceeded to feed him, ignoring the camera snapping away by the door.

"It's not that bad, right?" Wanda asked as she stepped in, sitting next to him and running her hand through James's curls as he looked up at her, smiling but never letting go of his bottle.

"He is a terribly well behaved child. I will risk myself here and assume he got it from our Captain. I do not believe Ms. Romanoff was this compliant. She is quite abrasive"

" _I would kick you out if I were there_ " Natasha's voice ran through the house as FRIDAY projected an image of her in the wall " _But you are right. I have always been a handful. How is he?_ "

"He is good. We played all afternoon and we are thinking of going to the park tomorrow. So you can have a break from the mission"

" _Sounds good. Vizsh, scoop out the park before getting there. Map out escape routes and the fastest way to get to the house or the facility. Is Pietro tagging along?_ "

"He was sent to a mission in Russia with Sam and Rhodey. It will be just the three of us, Agent Romanoff"

" _Unless you want me to start calling you Jarvis, I'd suggest you call me Natasha. And start calling Rogers by his name. You are my brother in law anyways_ "

"I will. Do you need my assistance during the mission?"

" _Hill has it all mapped out. Steve and Tony are running through some last minute details as I speak. Clint is flying the quinjet. I was just checking in on James._ "

As if on cue, he stopped sucking his bottle, his arms reaching towards Natasha's projected image, smiling and babbling.

" _Be good for Wanda and Vision, Jamie. We'll be back before you notice_ " she waved at him, then glanced at the duo " _Don't do anything Steve and I wouldn't. Goodnight guys_ "

Natasha's sudden disappearance seemed to upset James, who cried out reaching for her. Wanda took him from Vision's lap and started singing a Sokovian lullaby that soothed him almost immediately.

He didn't know much about the future. But if he could have something like this with Wanda, he would fight the universe to get it.

* * *

 **AN:** So… I had to write some ScarletVision because the trailer broke my heart and I had to fix it. Also, my struggle to stay in a team is real, because Tony will always be my spirit animal but Steve's just so… him. So I have 'til April 29th to choose my side… Don't forget to R/R! -OHP


	9. Chapter 9

_**Disclaimer:** All characters belong to Marvel._

* * *

 _A disgrace. That's what Johann Schmidt would have called him._

 _His father had failed him and HYDRA, but he wouldn't do the same._

" _We found him, sir!" an agent stuttered as he walked into his office, pale as the man behind the desk turned to face him._

" _You found the child?"_

" _Yes. It's in the New York suburbs." The young man swallowed nervously "But there's a problem…"_

" _What"_

" _Captain America and Black Widow are taking care of him. They are living undercover as a couple. Our spies have tried to get closer to them but they've not been able to."_

" _Do they know it's their child?"_

" _I don't know sir, but there's a chance. He's been kept out of the public eye. The child is always in the care of an Avenger. It will be extremely hard to pry him away."_

" _If he inherited the Serum, we must get our hands on him. We didn't come this far to let them take him away. We lost the Twins, we can't lose that kid."_

" _And what do we do?"_

" _We find a weakness. I want someone watching their every move. At some point they will slip."_

" _And then what?"_

 _The man grinned, his bare teeth resembling that of an animal about to attack._

" _That will be up to me…."_

-00-

CENTRAL PARK, NYC.

It was a sunny day in New York, and Central Park wasn't as crowded as they thought it would be, probably because it was a weekday and most people were actually working. It didn't matter thought, it worked perfectly fine for Vision and Wanda.

As instructed, Vision had left early to drive Steve's car to the facility. Wanda had waited thirty minutes before loading their SUV with all the things she thought the baby would need for this little trip to the park and driving to pick him up.

Central Park was a good hour away from Steve and Natasha's suburbs house, but they were less than 10 minutes away from Stark Tower. Besides, it was public enough that no one would blatantly try to take James from them. Or so she thought.

Vision, wearing jeans and a grey hoodie with a dark yellow snapback, had been sitting by the pound with James for a while as she basked in the sun. He had managed to add blonde hair to his disguise, so when James accidentally pulled the cap off, the hair covered the gem perfectly. Every once in a while he would turn to look at her and smile, which made her heart ache in turn. He was amused by the concept of a family and she had to admit it was appealing, in the future maybe. She put those thought asides and closed her eyes, feeling everything around her.

That's why she felt this presence… She had been listening to those around her, their minds some sort of show she liked to watch from afar. How different their concerns were to hers and how their lives differed. But this new person… he was dark and it made her uneasy.

She felt someone sit next to her, and opened her eyes to find a man, no older than 28, maybe. He was dressed in all black, blue eyes almost grey as they seemed lost and stubble that reminded her of Steve's when he had started growing his beard. She immediately reacted, her powers surging through her as she got in his mind. But she froze.

" _You are in danger. They want the child. You must leave now!"_

His eyes snapped at her for a moment before getting up and swiftly disappearing through the trees. He wasn't the dark presence she felt. Someone was still looking at them, and the anger was rising within them.

"J? Honey we should go" she shouted at Vision, eyes conveying the message he clearly understood.

She placed everything in James's stroller and started moving towards her SUV, Vision trailing behind and cuddling James as close to his chest as he could.

"There's a man. He's wearing a black mask and a white X on his vest. He's trailing behind" Vision stated, moving to stand beside her and grabbing her hand "I've connected to FRIDAY. She sent a distress call to Stark Tower. Mr. Stark is on his way"

As they got closer to their SUV he ran a scan "They've tampered with it. A bomb of sorts has been placed on the chassis"

They moved closer to the street, moving as far away from the SUV as they could while avoiding to look suspicious, Vision's hand on her back as he acted as a shield in case something was thrown at them. They heard the distinctive sound of tires screeching in the asphalt as a white Audi stopped in front of them, Tony rolling down his window, giving them a tight smile.

"Hello there. Wanda, take the baby and get in the car." She took James and hurriedly hopped in, only then she realized he had his Iron Man gloves on and she had no doubt the rest of the suit was somewhere in the car.

As Tony sped up towards the tower, the masked man approached him, shoving him forcefully against a car parked nearby, only it didn't have the effect he expected as Vision changed his density and was able to go through the car without causing damage.

"Tell Cap it's not personal. That child doesn't belong to him." The man hissed, walking away with two other men and jumping in a SUV that waited nearby. He barely had time to move a couple away from the sidewalk before the SUV Tony had given him exploded.

Once he made sure the civilians were uninjured, he hid behind some trees and flew out to the tower, where he could see a Quinjet moving to the helipad.

"Maria has sent Sam and Rhodey to take over for Natasha and Steve on their mission. They'll meet us at the facility. Get everything ready on the jet." Tony ordered him as he moved around, before the latest Iron Man suit attached to him. "Let's go"

The flight to the new Avengers facility was short. So short in fact, that the take-off procedure probably took longer. But that was on a normal flight. In stealth mode, FRIDAY reconfigured the route to do a few laps around different states and at least two holding patterns before landing at the facility, where Maria and Fury were waiting for them.

Tony got out first, running a scan around the area before nodding to Wanda, who followed with the baby in her arms and Vision right behind.

"Steve and Natasha will be here any minute. They will be taking an SUV to a safe house" Maria explained as they went into the facility through one of the many secret passages only the Avengers knew. "Care to explain what happened there?"

"We were enjoying a day at the park. Natasha and Steve knew our plans. We were by the pound when I felt this presence, someone looking at us" Wanda stated as she softly bounced James "A man sat beside me. Long hair, lost eyes… at first I thought it was him, but when I got into his mind he simply told me to leave. That someone wanted James. And then he simply vanished"

"A man with a black mask did chase us" Vision connected to the facility's interface and showed them a picture on the man "He requested I told the Captain that it was not personal"

"Rumlow" they all turned their heads when they saw Steve and Natasha walk into the room, the later making a bee line towards her son.

"Rumlow is dead" Maria stated as she read her files on a StarkPad "His injuries after the helicarrier crashed into the tower were severe"

"It has to be Rumlow, Maria. Back when Pierce gave the order to have me killed, he tried to take me down in the elevators. He said it was not personal" Steve stated, moving towards Natasha "We can't go back to the suburbs, we've been compromised"

"I have a nice array of houses all over the world; say the word and I'll ship you to one. Sentry mode" Tony said as he stepped out of his suit, moving to check more files on a screen.

"I have a safe house" Natasha stated, looking at Steve and then everyone in the room "James will stay out of this. We need to find Rumlow before he finds him"

"Alright then, I'll see if I can get Thor to come over." Tony left the room, and Steve's eyes set on Maria.

"Have Rhodey and Sam comeback, it's time to assemble"

-00-

BARTON STATE

"Are you sure you wanna do this? Because as soon as you step through that door they won't leave us alone" Natasha stated as she parked her SUV just outside the fence that surrounded Clint's farm, well out of sight from anyone's prying eyes, including Cooper and Lila's.

"Do they know about James?"

"No. Not even Clint. He has this deal with Fury and Hill to only call him in cases of extreme emergency. And I really had no time to tell him during our last missing, we were too busy being stealth and then rescuing Wanda…"

"Let's do it then, or else, I might spill the beans next time I see him"

She drove the rest of the way and parked the SUV next to Clint's beat up truck, jumping out and waving at the kids as they spied from the second floor "You should get James, I'm about to be jumped on"

As if on cue, the front door opened and two very excited kids came out running to hug their aunt, ignoring Steve and the sleeping baby in his arms at the moment.

"Aunty Nat! You came!" Lila smiled, reaching up for her. Natasha didn't hesitate to pick her up, knowing she wouldn't be able to do it soon.

"And dad didn't have to drag you in" Cooper finished, smirking as she shoved him lightly.

"I wanted to see my favorite niece and nephews. And you, young man, were more adorable when you didn't speak"

"You didn't know me then" he replied cheekily.

"Exactly" she waved at Laura, who was holding back an excited Nate as Clint walked closer to them.

"Let your aunt breathe or else she won't comeback" he scolded lightly, rolling his eyes as they took off to the house. He nodded at Steve and shot her a questioning look.

"We'll explain later, let's go in"

-00-

"Alright, Nat you know where your room is. Steve, guest room is downstairs. Did you guys bring anything for the baby?" Clint asked as he helped them with their bags, still eyeing them curiously.

"Do you think we could borrow Nate's portable crib? And don't worry; Steve's staying with me… Well, me and the baby" Steve had to do a double take there, because asides from the fist day with James and the day she had arrived from the mission, they had not shared a bed.

"Whatever rocks your boat? Anyways, get settled, dinner will be done in a few. Let me get that crib..." Clint stated, leaving them alone in the hallway. Natasha eyed him quickly before moving to her room, dragging her only bag in and placing it on the bed to start unpacking.

"There's space in the closet, we'll be here for a while once all of this it's over. And if we move the desk to the corner, we should have space to set up the portable crib" she disappeared with her toiletry bag to the bathroom.

He settled James on the bed before sweeping his eyes around the room. He had been to her quarters at the facility a few times, but it had nothing especial. Tony made sure they had the best furniture but quite honestly, they didn't really feel like making it home. However, this room felt warm; the walls were decorated with different paints that obviously she had carefully chosen. Her bedding was red and her bed was plush, if the way James relaxed into it was any indication.

Her desk was filled with drawings he assumed came from Lila and there was a toy version of herself on the nightstand that was probably built by Cooper with his father's help. And there were pictures of her with all three kids; his eyes caught one of her with Nathaniel at the hospital, her smile wide as she cuddled the new born, making him smile. The room felt more lived in that her facility one, which he found interesting considering they used to spend most of their time there.

"Here's the crib. Call if you need me…" Clint stated as he dropped it by the door before disappearing downstairs.

He snapped into action when he heard the shower running, quickly unpacking his and James's bag, and he was almost done with setting the crib when Natasha reappeared, wearing grey yoga pants and a black tank top, her hair pulled in a ponytail. She left the room for a moment and he could hear her talking to Laura before returning with a baby tub.

"I left hot water. So if you don't mind, could you fill this with lukewarm water? Jamie needs a bath" she quickly unpacked her bag before laying down on the bad, a soft smile gracing her face as James immediately cuddled to her.

"Sure." He finished settling the crib before grabbing his things and moving to the bathroom, not before clumsily dropping them on the floor twice.

"Your dad was able to lead a team during World War II and can run the Avengers with an iron fist, but he's a complete klutz doing regular stuff. He's one of a kind" she smiled, before sitting up and working on undressing James.

By the time Laura called them, Steve and Natasha were done and James was ready for a bottle.

After dinner they decided on watching a movie. Lila was currently fixated on Hotel Transylvania 2 and Cooper actually liked it, so it was an easy choice. But of course, there was only so much a child could do to keep its curiosity at bay.

"Aunty Nat, whose baby is that?" Lila asked as she cuddled to her dad, eyeing James as he lay quietly on Steve's chest, eyes glued to the screen.

"He's James, and… he's our son." She saw Lila's eyes widening as much as her father's and she had to hold back a laugh.

"But… Pregnant woman are huge. You've never been huge" Cooper stated, earning a whack from his mother "Sorry"

"I can't get pregnant, not like your mom was. He's especial" she said, running her hand on Steve's leg as she sat across from him on the couch.

"You adopted him?" Cooper asked, moving closer to his sister on the floor, probably to avoid another whack from his mom in case he asked something inappropriate again.

"No. He really is mine and Steve's baby. You'll get it in a couple of years when you are older"

"So Uncle Steve is your husband?" Lila asked, moving to Natasha's side and cuddling to her, her eyes settled on Steve and the baby. "Because mom and dad are married and they have us"

She felt Steve tense up and this time she did nothing to hold back her laugh, she couldn't complain, she always told Lila to speak her mind and never lie, which Clint found ironic.

"No, he's not my husband. He's… my boyfriend" she eyed Steve, who tried not so subtly, to hide his smile by kissing James's head.

"Okay. He's cute" the little girl stated, and then turned to her mother "When Auntie Nat and Uncle Steve get married, can I be the flower girl?"

"I think it's time for bed" Clint said, getting off the loveseat and pulling Cooper from the floor "Say goodnight"

Lila and Cooper whined, but did as told and moved upstairs, Clint following with a sleeping Nate in his arms.

"I have a feeling that James being here isn't a miracle… But I'm happy for you both" Laura smiled fondly at the family in front of her. "How are you guys handling it?"

"It's not easy. We didn't have the time most couples do to get used to the idea of a child, but… We are doing okay, I guess" Steve stated as he sat up on the couch, readjusting James on his lap so he could still watch the movie.

"I'm surprised he's been watching it the whole time. Nathaniel only pays attention for fifteen seconds before crawling off to cause trouble" Laura laughed, eyes shifting to the stairs as Clint returned to the room.

"He is Clint Barton's son… what did you expect?" Natasha laughed at the glare she got from her best friend "And yeah, Wanda introduced him to the wonders of television a few weeks ago. Dr. Cho says his brain is developing faster than most children do, and when he likes something he can usually stay focused on it for a while"

"That's nice. Now, care to explain how did this happen? And why are you visiting out of the blue?" Clint asked and Natasha smiled, because she knew she could always count on him to be blunt. Not that Steve would lie, but he tried to butter things up.

"RedRoom froze my eggs before sterilizing me. And HYDRA stole samples taken from Steve when he was defrosted. Nick says they were lost during the SHIELD fiasco and managed to recover them when Steve found him" she explained, eyeing her son fondly.

"Wait… so they basically made him on a tube somewhere?"

Steve nodded "Kind of. And technically, Tony found him. They used a surrogate. We believe they tried to create some sort of soldier based off ourselves, since we both have serums in our system. We found records of different attempts that failed, but James made it to full term. We found out he was our child a couple of months ago. Tony ran some tests…"

"Damn… Okay. And why are you here"

"Because HYDRA knows he's alive. They found Wanda and Vision at the park with him. They want to take him" Natasha stated "We know coming here it's a risk. And we are putting your family at risk too. But we had nowhere else to go. If they were able to track down Wanda and Vision they probably know where we lived."

Laura nodded, her eyes on Clint who simply shrugged "It's okay. You are family, Nat. And if someone tries to hurt you, any of you, we'll help you through"

"We know it's too much, considering Nate is almost two, but do you think you could keep him here for a while? Steve and I need to get back to New York. We need to find out who is behind this and make sure Jamie is safe"

"Nat, Jamie can stay with us as long as it's needed. Don't worry about that" Laura smiled, moving towards her friend and hugging her "I really am happy for you, Nat. And I'm sorry he's in danger"

"We might need Hawkeye"

"He's yours as long as you bring him back"

-00-

While Laura and Clint stayed behind to watch a new movie, Natasha and Steve decided to call it a night. They settled James on the crib and then moved towards the bed.

"I… I can sleep on the floor. I don't need much sleep anyways" Steve stated awkwardly as Nat made herself comfortable on the bed.

"Nope. You are sleeping with me, on the bed. And quit blushing Rogers! It's not like we are having sex!"

His blush got darker but he simply nodded and joined her on the bed, laying flat on his back for a few moments before Natasha cuddled to his side.

"I can't help but think about the man that warned Wanda…" he said after a while, wrapping his arm around her waist. "She didn't see anything out of the normal on him, asides from his glazed eyes and disgruntled appearance but… I have this feeling it was Bucky."

"Yeah, me too. But you didn't ask her anything after she gave her description. Hell, I don't think she knows we heard it"

"It's pointless, he's probably gone anyways"

"Steve, you know going after him right now won't help us keep Jamie safe. And obviously he's on our side"

"We need to find Rumlow"

"And we will. Once we're back in New York…"

"Yeah... once we are back to being Avengers"

* * *

 **AN:** Longest chapter yet. My ideas were out of control and it took me a while to put them together, sorry about that, and any spelling mistake, i don't have a beta and i'm sure some slipped in. Also, i have this new plot nagging at me after watching a movie and gosh i'ts driving me crazy! But i wanna try it... young Nat and older Steve? I must do it! Anyways, Thanks to every single one of you that take a moment to read this story and leave a review, it means the world to me! And once again, R &R, love y'all! -OHP


	10. Chapter 10

_DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to Marvel._

* * *

"Avengers Assemble!" Steve said on the intercom of the facility, Natasha and Clint trailing behind as he walked to the gym. He had done three rounds around the Barton state and Natasha made sure Clint's emergency system worked perfectly before finally departing, leaving James sound asleep in a shared crib with Nate, Laura assuring them he would be safe (Clint and Natasha had taught her how to shoot perfectly, something she proved them the day prior).

Once they walked into the gym, Natasha and Clint had a hard time holding back the laugh that came from them. It was 4am after all, and it shouldn't surprise them to find the team standing in their pajamas, sleep marring their faces.

"An Avenger is always ready. And Sam for Pete's sake couldn't you put on some pants at least?" Steve glared at his friend, who stood in only a wife beater and his boxers, which prompted him to hide behind Maria, who looked perfectly put together in her black silk PJ's even though she just woke up. Natasha and Clint burst out in laughter right then.

"Okay, guys, go upstairs and get changed into workout gear, I don't think I need to see Sam's junk any longer" Natasha said, rolling her eyes at Sam undignified groan, "Meet us at CR2" she said dragging the other two men with her.

Fifteen minutes later, everyone was seated in the conference room Natasha had chosen.

"Hill, what have you found?" Steve asked as he sat across from her on the table, eyes set on the files appearing on the touch table.

"FRIDAY got into New York's surveillance cameras and was able to track down the truck. It used to be a SHIELD issued one; it had been assigned to Rollins before the fall."

"Should we assume he's alive too?"

"Negative. I snapped that bastard's neck." Natasha stated proudly, rolling her eyes at Steve's pointed glare "What? You know that's my thing."

Hill ignored them and added another file to the table "Rollins is indeed, dead. The truck was abandoned in a ditch near just outside New York. We found traces of gunpowder and a few sets of prints, but none of them matched Rumlow's."

"He was wearing heavy tactical gear; he would not leave any trace behind." Wanda said, eyeing the evidence.

"Anything else?" Steve asked, closing the files and eyeing Maria again.

"Not really, whoever he's working with is very good at cleaning his tracks."

He sighed, his eyes setting on Natasha's form as she studied the files, frown deep in her face.

"So how do we track them?"

"We don't. We let them come to us." Sam said from his spot next to Maria, something that had caught Nat and Clint's attention when they first walked in but choose to ignore, at least for now.

"How?" Rhodey asked, lifting his head from the table to look at him.

"Steve and Natasha need to go back to the suburbs. Act like nothing happened. Find out how exactly they got to you."

"We are not bringing James into this. He's safer away from here." Natasha snapped right away, scowling at Sam, who managed to ignore her intense glare.

"You are not. I'm sure Wanda and Vision can get a few of those creepy realistic looking dolls to match James, and then add his voice via tape or something. Cover him up really good and just act it up."

"Actually, that makes sense. Someone spied on you and whoever it was, it's over there" Clint stated, stretching on his chair. He saw Natasha's eyes shine with mischief and he knew right away she was onto something.

"Yeah that's true… And I think I know who it was… Let's do this."

-00-

Steve, Natasha and one of the four different James' dolls returned to the suburbs with Wanda, Pietro, Vision and Clint in tow, who was driving a beat up truck that hauled a platform with an imported race car that Steve wasn't sure how he got, but Nat assured him it would be useful if they had to run. He wasn't sure about that, but he knew his Stark-issued Audi would be parked on the driveway from now on.

Clint would take on the role of Natalie's big brother, Conrad. His story was simple; his wife got angry and kicked him out when he decided to get back to work after having surgery not long ago. He was a high performance mechanic and would be crashing with them while he fixed his problems.

Natasha had jumped out of the car and pulled the fake baby out with her, hugging it to her chest and trailing behind Vision as he scanned the house and declared it safe. While Wanda trailed behind with Pietro to help Clint with his bags, that actually contained the other dolls.

"Steven! Hi!" Holly approached the men unloading the sports car, fake smile and overwhelming perfume that had Clint rolling his eyes.

"Holly. How are you?" Steve greeted, moving away from the platform to look at her, and doing the best he could to stop his grimace.

"Great… Don't tell me you are moving out already?"

"Oh no, we are not. This is Conrad, Natalie's older brother. He'll be staying with us for a while"

Clint could tell something was off about the woman as soon as she turned to him, her eyes widening slightly at the mention of him staying. Uh.

"That's nice; it's rare to see siblings so close. I thought you had a family" she smiled at him "Natalie mentioned something about it some time ago"

"I do, but the wife is kinda mad at me and I'll let her cool off for a while. Besides, I don't get to see my siblings that much, y'know with Natalie living in Europe for so long and the twins being here… Speaking of twins, I'll go make sure they aren't going through my stuff"

Steve saw as Clint grabbed a few other bags from his truck, his weapons probably, before turning to Holly again "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Yes, we are doing family day this weekend, and I wanted to invite you. Bring all your family it will be fun"

His instinct told him to say no, but he knew that whoever gave their location to Rumlow was in the neighborhood, and with Clint around, they would probably find them.

"Uh, sure. We'll arrange someone to babysit Clinton during the week, thanks"

"Oh don't worry the little one can come along, it's always a pleasure to have him around"

Steve wasn't sure why, but he had a feeling that party would end in chaos.

-00-

"FRIDAY, lock this place up and turn up the privacy" Clint stated as he walked into the house "Do let Captain Rogers in when he returns"

"What got your panties in a twist?" Pietro asked from his position, slumped in one of the couches with his feet propped on the coffee table as Wanda and Vision tried to prepare something on the kitchen.

"Punk, you still haven't learn some manners… Anyways, where's Natasha?"

"On her room, she's talking to Laura" Wanda replied without turning to him "I can sense your distress, found something interesting?"

He was about to answer when Steve walked into the house, eyes searching for Natasha.

"She's upstairs" Pietro filled in rolling his eyes.

"She's downstairs. Laura called and apparently James doesn't miss us. At least not that much. What did Holly want?" Natasha said as she stepped into the living room, nudging Pietro's legs off the coffee table to sit next to him.

"Family day this weekend. And we are all invited apparently. I said we would go as soon as we could arrange someone to babysit Clinton" Steve explained as he moved to sit across Natasha and Pietro.

"Let me guess, she said Clinton could be there too?" at Steve's nod, Clint turned to Natasha with a wide grin "So… I think the spy is your super friendly neighbor Holly"

"Tell me something I don't know already" Natasha rolled her eyes "She's been trying to get closer to us since we got here. At one point she even tried to set up her son with Wanda"

"Wait what? How come I'm hearing of this right now?" Wanda's eyes widened as she turned to the group from her spot on the kitchen, twisting a pillow and smacking Pietro with it when he laughed.

"It's irrelevant; I told her you already had a boyfriend, one you lived with none the less. But yes, Holly and her husband have been trying to get close to us from day one. Good thing James never liked her so she never got to hold him"

"So what's the plan?" Pietro turned to Steve smirking "Stars and Spangled Man with a Plan, yes? That's what Stark said"

"I'm killing Tony" he muttered under his breath before clearing his throat "I think Natasha and Clint should lead us here. They are our spies; they know this kind of ops better than me"

The duo nodded before Clint moved close to Nat "FRIDAY, privacy still on?"

"Yes, sir"

"Please make a transcript and send it to Hill and Tony. Backup is always useful" he eyed Nat "What do we do?"

"I'm sure not everyone in that party works for Rumlow, so we need to decipher who's our threat and who isn't" Natasha's eyes scanned the group "We need to take out as many agents as we can"

"I can do that. I can read people's minds after all" Wanda stated, walking into the living room with Vision in tow.

"Good. Figuring that out will give us the chance to calculate our moves. Once they realize we don't have James with us they will probably send someone to raid the house" Clint continued, grabbing a StarkPad and requesting the house plans "Vision?" he questioned looking at Natasha.

"No. It would be odd for Wanda to show up without her boyfriend. Have Rhodey and Falcon cover the house and take them out. Tony put enough ammo on Rhodey's suit to kill them all and then some" Natasha frowned "Steve and Clint, we need to find a way for you to access your weapons that doesn't mean attaching it to your back"

"Stark's Sentry suit could drop them for us. It's up there and FRIDAY controls it. It could work" he shrugged "Is Tony joining us?"

"I doubt it; Pepper dragged him to Milan for some Stark Industries event last night. That's why we got the sentry suit. But I wouldn't be surprised if he turns up" Clint stated, stretching on the couch "Sounds like we have a plan"

"And what about the agents Hill will probably send out?" Pietro asked.

"They can handle those that try to escape. Now let's move! I need to figure out how to hide my weapons in civilian clothes"

"Does your cat suit really hide that many?" Pietro wondered, nearly jumping out of the couch when Nat shot him Taser lines, smirking.

"Wanna find out?"

* * *

 **AN:** I am so sorry for getting behind on this! This chapter has been ready since forever but my internet has been crap and I've been so busy I didn't have time to visit my aunt until now… Anyways… This story has like two or three chapters left and a epilogue so there's that.

Also… Who saw Civil War? I did a couple of weeks ago and HOLY CRAP IT WAS AMAZING! I don't wanna spoil anything in case some of you haven't seen it but damn… I'm excited for SM and BP movies! Also… I did choose my side: #TeamIronMan and I stand by it even now (Don't judge me!) but I still love all my Avengers because they are my little box of cinnamon rolls and I'm done rambling.

Don't forget to R/R and thank you all so much for sticking around!-OHP


	11. Chapter 11

_DISCLAIMER: All Characters belong to Marvel._

* * *

The party was well on its way when they arrived, something that did not surprise Natasha seeing as they had turned up an hour later than expected. As accorded, the group had split right after the initial greetings, with Clint and Pietro moving near the buffet while Vision and Wanda sat near the pool, the young girl scanning the guest. Natasha and Steve were near the back door of the house, making small talk with some of the neighbors. Holly and her husband had disappeared soon after their arrival, and they were pretty sure that was not a good sign.

 _"He's here"_ Wanda's voice coming through the comms startled them, but Natasha turned slightly so she could make eye contact with the girl.

"Who is here?" Natasha asked, pulling Steve aside as she pretended to pick a call on her phone.

 _"The man from the park. I can't see him, but I can feel him. He's here"_

She felt Steve tense beside her and placed her hand softly on his arm, now would not be the time to go looking after Bucky. "Okay, how many hostiles are here?"

 _"Half the people in the party is clueless to what's going on, everyone else is hostile"_

"Sam, Rhodes; something happening with the house?"

 _"So far, we good. No car or people walking around. Hill is on the living room, the LMD is visible by her side. If they do come, they will see him"_ Sam's voice had an amused tone to it, and she'd have to thank Tony for FRIDAY and her video surveillance.

"Okay, Wanda, get the innocents out. Everyone else get ready, as soon as they realize what's going on they will attack"

She placed her phone on Steve's shirt pocket and moved closer to peck his lips. "Let's get ready, Wanda will get started soon"

As casually as they could, Wanda and Vision made their rounds around the backyard, dispersing as many people as they could without being seen. It was only a matter of time before Holly or whoever orchestred this realized what was going on.

 _"Two black SUV's just parked down the block"_ Sam's voice came through the comms as she and Steve moved to sit by the pool _"Redwing scanned it. It's Rumlow. Should we engage?"_

"No, not yet. There are innocents here. Wanda, get moving" she huffed quietly.

 _"Almost done"_

 _"Shit"_ Rhodes stated _"They know something is up. Wanda hurry up kid!"_

 _"I'm done. Let's do this"_ Wanda stated as she moved to the door with Vision.

Just as expected, Holly and her husband made their way back to the yard, looking more like ex-soldiers than the friendly neighbors they posed as. The remaining hostiles were pulling out their weapons as they circled around the group.

"I see you've finally figure it out" Holly smirked, moving closer to Nat.

"You are sloppy. Wasn't hard" she sighed, acting bored.

"Let's see what you say when that child becomes one of us"

"If you live that long…" Steve spat, glaring at the group.

Clint gave an eye roll as the group jumped on them, because seriously? They were fighting Avengers! It took more than twelve armed minions to take them down.

"Sam and Rhodey go! Wanda, keep Maria safe" Natasha ordered as she pushed her fist against a man's throat, crushing his windpipe as she tased another one with her shoes. "Guys!"

"On it!" Steve stretched his arm at the same time as Clint pulled his hand out, their shield and arc landing perfectly on their hands "Cap, go for Rumlow, we got this"

He knew how capable his team was, so it was fairly easy to leave them behind, not before throwing a worried glance at Natasha that was met with a glare that clearly said _Go_.

"Holly! C'mon don't be shy!" Natasha taunted as she choked the life out of a man with her thighs, her hands throwing a widow bite to the neck of a woman charging at Clint "Or should I say… Yelena"

The woman glared "You would know"

"You've always been sloppy; I'm surprised Rumlow even hired you" she mocked, dodging a knife that was thrown her way, easily charging at the man and shooting him. "Then again, Rumlow was always an idiot"

Tom tried to go after her, but had barely made it down the backyard steps when a flash of grey moved past him, snapping his neck and throwing him against the fence. The last hostile dropping to his knees as Vision's hand went through his chest and stopped his heart.

"Get Maria out of here. I got her" she signaled the team as she stood face to face to her past.

Glancing at each other, Clint, Pietro and Vision left the yard, leaving Natasha and Yelena to face each other.

"Ya poluchu mest'" i will get my revenge"

"My yeshche posmotrim -WE WILL SEE ABOUT THAT-"

Red Room. It was the Red Room all over again. Same training, same failures. Yelena growing frustrated as Natalia deflected every single one of her hits. Natalia landing a few, but causing far more damage than anyone they knew. Black Widow. That's what they aimed, and only Natalia earned it. After so many years, it felt the same.

"YOU ARE STILL FAILING, YELENA. YOU CAN'T BEAT ME. I'VE ALWAYS BEEN BETTER"

"WE'LL SEE ONCE WE ROT IN HELL"

In retrospective, she should've expected that. It's what they taught them, to sacrifice yourself if the mission goes south. Never go back if you've failed.

So really, she shouldn't have been surprised when Yelena pulled a string from the grass and everything exploded.

* * *

"We meet again, Cap" Rumlow's voice was bitter as he jumped on Steve and punched him through a wall with his new, armored arm "Ready for some pain?"

"Try harder" Steve spat as he saw Sam and Rhodes burst through one of the windows, helping Maria as she shot down two hostiles "I can do this all day long"

"We'll see about that"

Whoever built that suit for Rumlow was obviously not Tony Stark, it was rudimentary at best, but Steve would be lying if the punches didn't hurt "Don't you love my face now? Thanks for dumping a fucking building on me"

"Technically it was a helicarrier, and to be honest, I never liked your face"

He dodged another punch and tried use his shield, but somhow Rumlow's arm was strong enough to deflect it.

"Child was a decoy. It's not here!" one of the man yelled right before redwing shot him in the neck, and Rumlow groaned before grabbing Steve and throwing him against a wall, which sent him flying to the backyard "Where's the damn child?"

"Why should I tell you?" Rhodes threw the shield at him, which in turn he threw at Rumlow, knocking him off his feet before grabbing him by the neck.

"He'll come for it. Your friend? Your Bucky? He remembered you, and I enjoyed every second of the wipeout afterwards"

He let his guard down at that. He should've known better but _it was Bucky_. And he remembered him. And he felt like that damn Brooklyn kid when Rumlow produced a knife from his suit, jamming it right on his stomach, and then again upwards to his chest.

"Now you'll get to see how I wipe her out, too"

He tried to breathe as he saw a flash of silver, a metal arm. It was choking Rumlow, crushing his jaw before a red orb wrapped around him. He was fucking suicidal, and barely had time to register Wanda moving Rumlow out of the yard and onto the house next to theirs before he exploded. The horror on her face as a few of the other houses blew up too was evident.

"Steve? Hold on" Bucky was talking to him, applying pressure to his wounds as Maria, Rhodes and Sam ran to them, horror on their face.

"Buck…"

"I got this" Bucky turned to the men beside him, and then eyed the young girl with horrified eyes "You should take care of her. Take her wherever it is you all huddle up. And call 911 while you are at it"

Just as he was about to close his eyes, he saw Pietro run right up to his sister.

"Wanda?... God, that Holly woman just blew up the house"

"Was she in it?"

"Yes, but so was Natasha. We must get them to the quinjet, now!"

 _Natasha._ He tried to speak, but the rumble on his chest told him his lungs were filling with blood, and they were filling up fast. He could hear Bucky, he was saying something to him but he couldn't make out any word before everything went black.

* * *

He woke up with a start, crying out in pain as his chest hurt. He was at the facility's medical bay as far as he could see, but his head was hurting and everything was spinning, so he wasn't sure.

"You might wanna lay back down, fella"

Bucky. His eyes snapped to the man sitting by the window. He was wearing a snapback and had cut off his hair, but it was him, and he was there.

"That juice they pumped you with is quite cool. You should've died" he smiled, and he wasn't sure how to feel. But then a flash of red invaded his thoughts and he moved to get off the bed before Bucky pushed him down to it.

"They are fine. Natalia is quite the wise woman. She was bruised and suffered a few burns but she's okay. So is the boy"

He wanted to cry out of happiness. He didn't remember much of the fight, but hearing that Natasha was in the other house when it blew up made him feel sick. He didn't want to lose her. He wasn't ready to lose her.

"She was here. But Maria dragged her out and sent her up to your room. Something about your kid needing a parent and that she wasn't fit to babysit."

He wanted to get out of the bed and go find his family, but the shackles around his hands prevented him to.

"Ah yes. Mr. Stark designed those for you, made out of vibranium. So is the bed. The doctor wants to make sure you are healed but he knew you wouldn't stay put so…"

"Can you get Natasha?"

"I'm here" he looked over Bucky's shoulder to see Nat cradling James to her chest. He could see a few bruises and a bandage on the arm that wasn't holding James but she seemed fine.

"I'm sorry, I should've been there with you-"

"Steve, don't" she glanced at Bucky and he took his clue to leave, not before reassuring Steve that he wouldn't leave the tower and that Vision was assigned to be his shadow if he tried.

"Nat-"

"I'm fine. I've been through worst. A few cuts and burns won't kill me" she moved to sit beside him, placing a sleeping James on his chest "He started babbling the other day"

He looked at her questionably "How long have I been out?"

"A week give or take. This is the first time I bring him over though, he's been particularly clingy to Wanda. I guess he can sense she's in distress"

"Is she okay?"

"Well… a few people died. Five to be exact. No children at least. The investigation simply said that a gas leak caused all the houses to blow up. But she'll still pretty shaken. Last night she locked herself up on her room and we had a hard time getting her out of it this morning, but she'll be fine" she smiled, grabbing his hand.

"I wanna hug him"

"You do have bad precedents of leaving the medical bay when you shouldn't so, I think I'll support Tony and Bruce on this one" she smirked and he groaned "Relax, the serum should make sure you are off the bed in a day or two, or when you stop wincing whenever James moves over you".

"I don't need this" he groaned, and tried to hide his wincing a bit better when James' head lolled to a particularly painful spot.

"Oh but you do" she leant it to kiss him, stunning him "Don't look at me like that, we agreed to try, didn't we?"

"Yeah but-"

"No buts. Now you should rest soldier, it's about time you take over babysitting your super son"

"So now he's my son?" he asked, smiling.

"He has always been your son"

He shuffled on the bed, as much as he could with the restrains holding him in place and James sleeping on his chest.

"Now what?"

"Now we start over, somewhere else"

"Somewhere safer?"

"You are Captain America and i'm Black Widow, safer is a word that doesn't go well with us" she shrugged, lifting James off his chest "But as long as we are together, i think he will be fine"

"So... a farm?"

"Don't even, Soldier"

* * *

 **AN:** I am so so so so sorry! Really, i am. This story has been ready for quite a while now(and i have a few connected OS showing the fluffy side of Romanogers that i didnt show here coming soon ) but i have not been able to actually hook my pc to internet basically since i last updated. Our phone/internet providers are utter crap, and i live in a quite dangerous place so i really cant prance around with a laptop. Anyway, here it is! I'll try to start posting the OS next week, once i proofread them again! Thanks for sticking around! -OHP.


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